Man in the Mirror
by DiDiGlee
Summary: "You're wrong, Sebastian. Kurt is the strongest person I've ever met. He knows exactly who he is. Whereas I look into the mirror sometimes and don't know who the hell is staring back at me." This fic takes place after 03x08. BLANGST!
1. Girls vs Boys

**Author's Note:**

**Hi everybody! :D **

**So I was thinking to myself what's a better way to start a new year than by starting a new story? Here we go!**

**Welcome to my new little Klaine fanfiction and thanks for joining me! **

**My name is DiDi and I'm your author for this fic. Please take a seat, help yourselves to some cookies and enjoy what's coming...**

**This fic takes place after episode 03x08 'Hold on to sixteen' and is my idea about a girls versus boys in glee club and Blaine wondering why Kurt chooses to join the girls rather than the boys. **

**But watch out, this will be a Blaine-angst story! I'm always careful with rating, so this might be a T-rated story, but I'll be rating this M for some crap going on with Sebastian stalking Blaine in later chapters. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or Klaine or the madness that is the New Directions boys squad! **

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><p><strong>Girls vs Boys<strong>

"Hey guys!" Mr Schuester came into the rehearsal room of the glee club as enthusiastic as always and clapped his hands eagerly to get everyone's attention. "First of all I want to say that I'm so proud of you all! You did really well at Sectionals! Let me hear some noise!"

Now that was something that needed not to be said twice, so the New Directions kids cheered as loud as they could.

"But no rest for the wicked!" Mr Schue went on. "Now that we have our girls back," he smiled fondly at Mercedes, Santana and Brittany, "I'd love to do another girls versus boys competition!"

"Yay!" Kurt gave a happy little cheer and clapped his hands in anticipation. Blaine turned from where he was sitting in front of Kurt with a smile and his boyfriend beamed down at him. A rush of affection took hold of Blaine. He loved to see Kurt being giddy with happiness, it was just so cute.

Blaine only wished he could see his boyfriend like this more often. The last time he'd seen Kurt grin happily from ear to ear was when he told him he'd transferred to McKinley and Kurt had hugged him drunken with joy. Reliving that particular wonderful moment in his head, Blaine was smiling like an idiot to himself.

"All girls to the left please, and boys over to the right," Mr Schue instructed them and everybody got to their feet and talked excitedly about the prospect of doing another girls vs boys competition.

"I bet you've got a bunch of song ideas piling up in your head already," Blaine said standing up and lending his boyfriend a hand.

"You can bet your life on it!" Kurt said with sparkling eyes as he gratefully took hold of Blaine's hand and stepped down between the chairs. His white boots clunked loudly on the wood until he reached the floor. Kurt squeezed Blaine's hand affectionately before he released it and moved to straighten his vest.

Blaine's eyes followed Kurt's hands flutter over his clothes, in his mind he was puzzling about how many layers Kurt was wearing today and he imagined taking all of them off. A tall order, indeed, but he wasn't one to reject a challenge.

He knew that the one thing Kurt loved the most about having left Dalton for good was being able to wear his own clothes again. And now that Blaine had joined him at McKinley, he had the delight of being constantly surprised by his boyfriend's ever changing wardrobe choices. Every day it was a pleasure to fantasize about undressing him, imagining his fingers unbuttoning Kurt's shirts, unzipping his pants, unlacing his boots...

_Have you ever had the urge to rip each other's clothes off and get dirty? _

Kurt's words were haunting in his head. Oh if Kurt only knew!

The truth was, Blaine was undressing Kurt every day with his eyes, not violently and full of relish, but slowly, sensuously, his mind was always figuring out the best way to carefully undo a lacing, to gently pull off a vest, to unknot a tie tenderly and accidently brush Kurt's soft skin with his fingers or place a kiss on every part of revealed skin...

"Gosh, all the months I spend in Dalton you cannot imagine how much I longed for this!" Kurt sighed dramatically and Blaine looked up, smiling fondly at his boyfriend and trying to get his X-rated thoughts out of his head before they showed. He was glad he didn't have many classes together with Kurt, because he wouldn't be able to concentrate on class when Kurt was in the same room and he was bound to be constantly daydreaming about his boyfriend.

"You have?" Blaine went ahead to follow Finn's lead into the boys corner and found himself puzzling over Kurt's strange comment. Did he mean he had been longing to do a girls versus boys back in Dalton? Was it that much fun to compete against girls? Well, Blaine wouldn't know. According to Wesley's records the Warblers had done such a challenge only once with the glee club of their sister school, but that was a few years back before Blaine had joined the Warblers. Afterwards, the Warblers had refused to ever repeat the competition, because apparently the girls had played an unfair game by distracting the boys with super-short skirts and other female qualities and the boys had lost. So, to compete against a group of girls was new ground to Blaine.

Also Blaine was of the opinion that it wasn't quite accurate to compare a boys performance with a girls performance. How was it possible to say who was better when the competition parties were so clearly different? Well, apparently it must be fun or else Kurt wouldn't be so excited about it.

Blaine was thrilled of course by the idea of an all boys group performance once again. As much as he enjoyed dancing with the girls whenever he got the chance to in a performance, he missed hanging out with a bunch of guys. He wasn't used to be around girls so much and found them quite irritating at times, especially girls like Rachel or Brittany.

Walking over to join the boys, Blaine noticed that the other guys seemed to be very pleased to be by themselves. Sam had draped his arms around Puck's and Rory's shoulders and they were laughing about something and Artie was wheeling next to Finn, trying to get the giant's attention, while Finn was heading to the drums, his drum sticks already whirling in his hands.

As Blaine approached the group of boys he turned to address his boyfriend again, and did a double take. "Kurt? Where...?"

He had expected Kurt to be walking just behind him, but was surprised to find him standing at the piano where the girls had gathered up. He was chatting vividly with Rachel, waving expressively with his hands while she was shaking her head in clear protest to whatever he was saying.

Blaine was frozen on the spot, staring over at Kurt, not really getting what was happening. He felt like he was missing out on something important here. What was Kurt doing over there? Maybe he just needed to talk to Rachel about something before he came over?

"Hey Blaine!" Blaine flinched slightly when Mike patted his shoulder and asked with a laugh, "Are you looking for Kurt? He always tries to join the girls, but Mr Schue usually calls him back."

"You mean, Kurt always puts himself in with the girls?" Blaine asked for clarification, a look of plain irritation on his features.

As if on cue Kurt spoke up to their teacher with a challenge in his voice. "Is there a problem, Mr Schue?"

"Nope! Everything's fine, Kurt," Mr Schue said without looking up while writing the names of the group members on the chalkboard.

Blaine watched Kurt raising an eyebrow in surprise and then smiling smugly, raising his hand to do the gay high five with a broadly grinning Rachel.

Now Blaine's gaze found the chalkboard as well and he stared at it with his mouth hanging open.

There were two columns. One titled Boys and one titled Girls.

The Boys column read: Finn, Sam, Artie, Noah, Blaine, Rory, Mike

The Girls column read: Rachel, Mercedes, Kurt, Tina, Quinn, Santana, Brittany

"...the other day with Blaine and we just _love_ this song, right, honey? Blaine?" Kurt's voice was floating over to him and Blaine turned just in time to see his boyfriend whirling around on his heels, clearly expecting him to be standing close to him as always. There was a fleeting look of wonder on Kurt's face as he realized that Blaine wasn't there.

Then Kurt's blue eyes searched the choir room and found Blaine standing rooted just across the room. Immediately Kurt's eyes lit up and he lifted his chin and motioned for him to come over, but Rachel nudged Kurt's arm and Blaine could hear her saying, "I don't think he wants to join the girls."

Kurt tilted his head and a visible 'Oh' was forming his lips and Blaine – still unmoveable, with both feet stuck on the floor – expected his boyfriend to be disappointed or annoyed, but instead Kurt cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted "Have fun!" and then even blew him a kiss. With a loving smile that made Blaine's knees weak Kurt winked at him and eventually turned away again to talk with the girls.

"Hey, we've got two groups of seven!" Mr Schue announced excitedly. "Now, that's what I call a lucky number, guys!"

For a moment Blaine was really tempted to hurry across the room and claim his place right next to Kurt, to tell Mr Schue to cross out his name on the boys column and sign him up with the girls as well, because he didn't want to miss one word out of his boyfriend's mouth, he didn't want to miss one single move, he didn't want to miss anything concerning Kurt.

And maybe also because he was a little bit uncomfortable by the prospect of being alone with the New Direction boys without having his boyfriend around. But then Mike casually flung his arm around Blaine's shoulders and dragged him along. "Come on, Blaine. We've got work to do if we wanna show those girls who wears the pants!"

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><p><strong>Next chapter: <strong>

Mr Schue explains some rules for the girls vs boys competition and reveals the judges. Also Blaine will confront Kurt about why he rather joins the girls than the boys!

**Thank you for reading and please don't forget to review if you like this and let me know if you want me to write more.**

**Happy New Year to you all!**

**:)**


	2. Freedom

**Wow, guys, I'm a bit overwhelmed! Thank you SO MUCH for all your reviews, favorites and alerts! I didn't expect such a huge response to this! I hope I can live up to the expectations with chapter two. ;)**

**BTW, in this story I picture Blaine's family situation like this: Blaine is an only child. He lives with his parents in a town a one hour drive from Lima. His mother – Elaine – works as a journalist/editor for a magazine (but no, sadly no fashion magazine). His father – Howard – is a busy lawyer. **

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><p><strong>Freedom<strong>

"Of course there will be some rules," Mr Schue shouted over the chattering of fourteen excited teenagers. "As for the song selection, there are only songs allowed by dead artists!"

"No!" Kurt whined along with some other glee club members who groaned in dismay. "Why do you have to limit our options so drastically? This means no Gaga! No Britney!" Kurt grabbed Mercedes' arm for emphasis and both of them shared a look of horror and sighed in unison, "No Whitney!"

Santana steepled her hands and with a smug smile on her lips she send a prayer to heaven, "Amy, I never loved you more!"

"Ewww, Santana, that's morbid!" Tina made a face.

"I'll honor your memory," Santana added. "I promise I'll do you proud!"

"Shit," Puck murmured next to Blaine. "This means we can't do Metallica! We can't even do the freaking Rolling Stones. They're all still alive, aren't they?"

"We can do Nirvana," Finn suggested with a shrug. "Kurt Cobain's definitely dead."

"Also, I want to see some _dancing_!" Mr Schue raised his voice again. "So boys, this means I don't want to see any of you with guitars. And Finn, don't get too cosy behind the drums."

Finn rolled his head back into his neck and gave a very annoyed sounding grunt.

"And to make things even more interesting, there will be a prize!" Mr Schue waited until everybody was cheering at his announcement, before adding, "The loser group takes the winner group for dinner to Breadstix!"

"Mr Schue, you do realize that that's not really a prize, do you?" Artie piped up and shoved his glasses up his nose. "It's more like a punishment for the losers."

"So the guys have to pay dinner for us? Nice!" Santana grinned wickedly and the girls laughed while the boys booed.

"Just you wait, Santana!" Sam shouted over to his ex-girlfriend.

"Who are the judges?" Rachel asked with her eyebrows sceptically raised high. "And don't say it's Mrs Pillsbury and Coach Bieste again. As much as I appreciate both of them, they're really no competent judges for a show choir performance."

"Well, after Sectionals I talked to some of the other show choir teams," Mr Schue explained, "and I came up with the idea for this and asked some of them to be our objective judges."

"You've invited our _competition_ to watch us perform?" Rachel shrieked, clearly at the edge of outrageous. "They just accepted your request because this was the perfect opportunity TO SPY ON US!"

"Not at all, Rachel. In fact two teams were so amazed by the idea of a friendly match that they decided to compete against one another, too. So you'll get to see performances by them and you get to judge them in return. We've agreed upon a date for the performances to take place on Saturday in two weeks, so please mark that date in your calendars."

"Would you care telling us who those teams are?" Rachel asked with her arms folded in front of her chest.

"Well, I hope you're excited to hear that the _Unitards_ and the _Warblers_ agreed to it."

Blaine listened up and a smile spread on his face by the prospect of getting to see his Dalton friends again – and to judge their performance. Immediately he looked over at Kurt and their eyes met. Kurt was smiling back at him, apparently just as pleased by the news as he was.

"Girls! We need to discuss this," Rachel announced as excited as one Rachel Berry could get. "In private! If you don't mind, Mr Schue, we're off to brainstorming in the auditorium."

"Sure, you do that, girls."

Blaine watched the girls and Kurt leave the choir room. Kurt had his arms linked with Mercedes and they were putting their heads together, whispering to each other and giggling while they followed Rachel's lead.

Mr Schuester cleared his throat. "In fact I have an important, uhm, appointment with Mrs Pillsbury to discuss, uhm, you know, school stuff, so I'm off for now, too. I think you guys can look after yourselves for the remaining time of class?" With no more than a wave of his hand Mr Schuester hurried away and left the boys alone.

The moment the door was closed, Finn gave a drum-roll and yelled, "Freedom!"

Instantly the song by George Michael popped up in Blaine's head and without thinking about it he started singing the chorus out loud,

"I won't let you down, I will not give you up  
>Gotta have some faith in the sound<br>It's the one good thing that I've got!"

"Awesome, dude!" Finn grinned over at Blaine and continued to give the beat to the song. Blaine grinned happily back. Ever since they'd settled their difficulties – well, ever since Finn had admitted his insecurities to him – they got along surprisingly well.

But still, the moment Kurt left the room Blaine felt a bit left out and, yeah, abandoned. So Blaine did what he always did when he was feeling insecure: He burst out into song, because it was the only thing that made him feel like standing on solid ground.

"I won't let you down, so please don't give me up  
>Because I would really, really, <em>really <em>love to stick around!"

Artie, Rory and Mike applauded him and Blaine bowed to them. Then Puck grabbed one of the guitars. "The song's not finished yet, Anderson. Go on!" And with Finn on the drums and Puck – soon followed by Sam – accompanying him with guitars, Blaine launched further into the song.

"Heaven knows I was just a young boy  
>Didn't know what I wanted to be<br>I was every little hungry schoolgirls pride and joy  
>And I guess it was enough for me"<p>

Mike started dancing next to him, making funny phantomimics matching to the song lines, making everyone laugh. Blaine danced across the room, hopped on a chair and walked over the line of chairs, doing what he did best, showing off in the way his teammates at the Warbler's had loved about him.

"To win the race, a prettier face, brand new clothes  
>And a big fat place on rock and roll TV<br>But today the way I play the game is not the same  
>No way – I think I'm gonna get myself happy"<p>

Encouraged by the cheers of his new fellow glee clubbers Blaine put all he got into the lines. Sure enough he knew this song by heart. It was one of his favorites which he sung a lot in his bedroom in private, putting all his deepest fears and all his hope into it.

"I think there's something you should know  
>I think it's time I told you so<br>There's something deep inside of me  
>There's someone else I've got to be!"<p>

It was kind of weird to sing this song in front of the boys. It felt like giving away a part of himself, but then again it was just a song and nobody knew the real meaning it held for him and how it felt like he was putting his heart on display.

"Take back your picture in a frame  
>Take back your singing in the rain<br>I just hope you understand  
>Sometimes the clothes do not make the man"<p>

Suddenly his father's face popped up before his eyes. Standing in the doorway of Blaine's bedroom late at night, watching him dance and belt out this song, until Blaine noticed him standing there and froze on the spot, his heart racing, anxiously expecting some mean comment. But his father just shook his head slowly and moved on to get to the bathroom. No 'turn down the volume', no 'don't you have school tomorrow?', no 'stop behaving like a child and grow up', nothing. Just a shake of his head.

"All we have to do now is take these lies  
>And make them true somehow<br>All we have to see is that I don't belong to you  
>And you don't belong to me!"<p>

Blaine caught his breath while shaking the image of his father off. He stumbled over the next few lines, but no one noticed, because all the boys were now belting out the chorus along with him.

"Freedom! Freedom!  
>You've gotta give for what you take!"<p>

Blaine knew he had been living a beautiful but surreal dream at Dalton. Those walls had protected him from harm, but a part of him he had always been aware that Dalton was just an illusion of safety. Once he left the school grounds, there was no denying that the real world was a cruel, dangerous place.

"Heaven knows we sure had some fun, boy  
>What a kick, just a buddy and me<br>We were living in a fantasy"

Yes, everybody in Dalton had been his friend – because due to zero tolerance bullying policy nobody had been allowed to hate him. And although he had been close to David and Wesley, they were both on the Warbler's council and they liked him, because he had taken their group to the road of success.

"We won the race, got out of place  
>I went back home, got a brand new face<br>For the boys on Mtv"

Before Blaine had come along, no one at the Warblers had put as much passion and devotion into the act of singing and performing as he did. He had been a natural at enthusing a crowd and soon he had become their little star and he'd bathed in the fame. But that's all it was. Fame. Smoke and mirrors. A sweet, sweet fantasy.

Only when Kurt had come along, Blaine had finally woken up.

"But today the way I play the game has got to change"

And who the hell was he to preach courage to him, when he of all people had no idea what courage was? All of a sudden Blaine had realized that he had to burst the comfortable bubble he'd been living in for so long if he wanted to be strong and reliable and _real_ for Kurt.

If he wanted to be with Kurt.

"Oh yeah, now I'm gonna get myself happy!"

"I'm gonna get myself happy," Blaine finished in a murmur to himself. After all, that's why he had transfered to McKinley. Ignoring his father's protest and disapproval, ignoring his mother's arguing over the ever increasing price of gas. Not caring about anything really. He just wanted to be happy for a change. And if he had to drive an hour to school each day for that, he didn't mind. So he had claimed his freedom and after struggling for a while his parents had let him be.

The boys hooted and shouted and made a lot of cheering noise, patting Blaine's shoulders and giving him high fives.

"Hey, can we use this song for the competition?" Finn asked excitedly, but Blaine shook his head, still trying to catch his breath. "I'm afraid George Michael is still alive."

"Shit," Finn cursed which made Blaine laugh. "Hey, no death wishes, okay? He's an awesome singer!"

Blaine looked around the room and for a moment he took everything in.

Now, if this was a Warbler's council meeting, everyone would sit down all mannered on the couches, no crinkles in their blazers, their ties neat and shoes polished. Wesley would moderate the discussion with excessive and most of the time unnecessary use of his gavel. If you wanted to make a suggestion you would have to raise your hand and wait until you were addressed by the council. Any kind of interjections were met with annoyance and if the council was pissed off by you, you would notice soon enough.

But this was no Warbler meeting and Blaine couldn't help but notice the main difference.

The New Direction boys were uncoordinated, in clear lack of discipline, apparently enjoying any kind of freestyle and just having a blast. At Dalton even impromptu performances were practised weeks in advance.

Left by themselves the New Direction boys squad immediately started goofing around. Not that the Warbler's didn't enjoy a good joke, but they were subtle in their humor.

The New Direction guys cracked up at silly stuff like Mike dry-humping the piano, just to be joined a moment later by Puck who stood behind Mike pretending to be doing it like dogs. While Sam and Rory doubled over laughing, Blaine wasn't sure whether he should laugh, too, or run and hide, or point out that they were supposed to brainstorm ideas for the girls vs boys competition.

Soon Blaine realized that they wouldn't come up with any constructive ideas today. Instead Finn completely lost himself into the play of his drums, Puck now slumped into a chair and closed his eyes to get some sleep. Mike was dancing in Michael Jackson style across the room while Rory, Artie and Sam got themselves into an argument about hot and not actresses.

And Blaine felt a little bit lost.

"The last time we did a girls versus boys, we sent Kurt to Dalton to spy on you guys," Puck suddenly said and Blaine turned around to face him.

"I guess I should thank you then," he said with a smile and sat down on the chair next to Puck. "That was the day Kurt and I met."

"He wanted to sing a Diana Ross medley," Puck continued his story, leaving no doubt in his voice that this was no good thing. "And he was freaking us out with his ridiculous outfit ideas. So the best way to get him off our backs was to send him to that gay school of yours where he'd blend in perfectly."

Hearing this Blaine was scandalized.

Of course he remembered the emotional shape Kurt was in back at that time. Being bullied by this Karofsky-guy without anyone noticing, not even his friends and fellow glee clubbers. "That's awful, Noah," Blaine said with a little shake of his head. "Didn't you even stop to think of his feelings?"

"Feelings?" Puck snickered. "He sure as hell didn't think of _our_ feelings when he suggested we guys should wear feather boas for the gig!"

"I'm just glad Mr Schue let Kurt join the girls this time," Artie said, having overheard their conversation and wheeling next to Puckerman's chair.

"Why's that?" Blaine asked with a frown. Why didn't the boys want Kurt in their midst?

"Because he always has objections on the songs we wanna do," Artie explained with a shrug. "And his own ideas are just totally out of space. I'm sorry, but I really can't relate to anything involving exotic bird feathers."

"And you know how he is when he doesn't get what he wants," Finn added. He left his seat behind the drums and joined the circle of chairs. "He just mopes around all the time."

"But don't you think that having someone in the group with a different sight on things is of great value?" Blaine asked carefully, turning all serious on his teammates. "It would be plain boring if everyone agreed on just everything. It's much more exciting to have new ideas tossed in. I mean, we're all individuals. I can't believe that all of you have the samelikes and dislikes. So why did you use to turn Kurt's suggestions down? Don't you think this might be why he rather groups up with the girls than with you guys?"

"Look, he's _always_ doing stuff with the girls," Finn said like it was a written law. "It's not like we kick him out or something."

"But you don't really include him either, do you?"

"It's not that we don't want Kurt around," Artie held up his hand to protest. "We're just saying that it's kind of tiresome to have him around. I mean, he's kind of constantly alienating himself. How am I supposed to connect with a guy who gets all excited about doing a Lady Gaga number and making his own costume for it?"

"Oh yeah, that was what got him into trouble with Karofsky in the first place," Finn said with a roll of his eyes. "And I never understood why he insisted in wearing that silly costume instead of just keeping his head low and not provoking trouble. And I had to go and beg Mr Schue to allow us boys to do a rock number instead of this Lady Gaga crap."

Blaine didn't say anything but he was a little bit shocked to hear Finn say so easily 'us boys' and excluding Kurt.

"I still believe he wants to be a chick himself," Puck said, smirking.

"Come on, guys," Finn said now, criticizing his friends. "You're talking about my brother here."

"You sure he's not your sister?" Puck snickered and some of the guys laughed along. Finn looked at Blaine and just shrugged apologetically.

Blaine imagined being grouped with the New Direction guys who looked down on him as a matter of principle and made stupid remarks about his outfit choices and song ideas. It dawned on Blaine just why Kurt rather stuck with the girls.

Blaine inhaled deeply and decided not to comment any further.

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><p>After glee rehearsal (or better after an hour of fooling around) Blaine hurried down the hallway to catch his boyfriend before the next couple of classes started. Of course he knew Kurt's schedule by heart. Kurt's next class was French, so he would have to go to his locker to get his textbooks. Sure enough, when Blaine turned the corner he saw his boyfriend heading towards his locker.<p>

For a second he took in the appearance of Kurt's backside, because, boy, he had a way to move his hips in those tight jeans that made Blaine sweat just from staring...

"Hey, wait up!" Blaine quickened his pace.

Kurt gave him a flirtatious smile and a flutter of his eyelashes. "For you I'd wait _a thousand years_, Blaine Warbler," Kurt said with a deep rolling voice.

"Will you ever stop making Breaking Dawn references?" Blaine said with a playful annoyed sigh and bumped into Kurt's side, accidentally of course.

"Nope," Kurt answered short and sweetly, enjoying the way their arms brushed against one another.

"And you can really skip the _Warbler_ by now. There's no more warbling for me. I'm a New Directions stud now!" Blaine swelled his chest proudly as he walked beside Kurt down the hallway.

"Really?" Kurt said and arched his eyebrows at Blaine questioningly. "But I thought they say, Once a Warbler Always a Warbler?"

For a second Blaine was taken aback. He didn't know why, but hearing Sebastian's words out of Kurt's mouth was somehow bothering him. A little nervous laugh escaped his throat. "Where have you heard that line?"

"Wesley said it to me when I left Dalton, remember?" Kurt answered and brushed the back of his hand over Blaine's arm.

"Oh right," Blaine slapped his forehead. "It's Wesley's standard line actually." How could he forget that these words were originally from Wesley? Now he couldn't help but hear Sebastian's alluring voice in his head along with these words.

"Is something wrong?" Kurt asked when they arrived at his locker.

"No, I just... Never mind," Blaine shook his head and laughed. There was really no need to mention Sebastian's name in front of Kurt.

"You know what's funny, though?" Blaine asked now and adjusted the strap of his bag on his shoulder. "Do you remember what you said when you tried to talk me into transfering?"

Kurt laughed that beautiful tinkling laugh of his and shot Blaine a quick look before he opened his locker. "I guess I said a lot of things to get you to finally transfer! So no, I have no clue what you're going at."

"Well, you said you didn't want us to be competitors," Blaine reminded him with a smug smile tugging at the corner's of his mouth.

"Oh, right, that!" Kurt pulled some books out of his bag to stuff them in his locker.

"You do realize that we're competitors again, my love?" Blaine said with a flirty tone in his voice as he leaned against the locker next to Kurt's.

"Not really, no," Kurt replied all confident. "It's beyond any doubt that the girls and me will beat you. And I can't wait for you to pay for me at Breadstix, baby."

"Oh no, you'll pay for me!" Blaine countered, grinning widely at his boyfriend.

"Nah, I don't think so," Kurt teased back. "The girls are very ambitious!"

"I was wondering…" Blaine said along with another nervous laugh. "Why did you join the girls anyway?"

"What do you mean?" Kurt asked, his tone careful. "Are you saying that it was odd for me to want to sing with the girls?"

Blaine shrugged awkwardly to show that he didn't mean any offense, but he wished he hadn't said anything when Kurt turned cold eyes on him.

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><p><strong>Just so you know, today I've been named the Queen of Cliffhangers! *applause* And to do my name justice I will leave you with this ending. Ha, ha, ha! (Evil laughter echos from the walls forever more...)<strong>

**OK, I hope this chapter doesn't sound like I'm dissing on the Warbler's or on Dalton! I really love those blazer-crazy boys! But in this story I imagine them to be quite fond of Blaine, but not really close friends of his. **

**BTW if you're into Blangst, please check out another new story called "White Blank Page" by _normallyweirdm._ Please find it on my favorites list! Maybe if you give her some well-deserved love, she's going to hurry up with writing chapter two. :)**

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><p><strong>Songs in this chapter: <strong>

George Michael – Freedom

**Reviews are very, very, very much appreciated! :D**


	3. Kissing

**Wow, 15 reviews already and only ch. 2 is up! You guys are amazing! It must be the girls vs boys topic that you all get so excited about! Oh, you worry way too much, guys!**

**To everyone who is waiting for updates for 'No Regrets' and 'Tony and Maria', I'm working on it, I promise! :)**

**THANKS A MILLION to Colfermentalhead for helping me with this chapter and for your amazing suggestions! You are awesome and I won't ever let you go again! And yes, that's a threat! XD**

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><p><strong>Kissing<strong>

"What do you mean?" Kurt asked, his tone careful. "Are you saying that it was odd for me to want to sing with the girls?"

"No, of course not!" Blaine hurried to say, but then he sighed. "Well, maybe just a little bit? I mean, come on, you're a guy! I for one can bear witness that you own a dick! And what a beautiful, amazing, delicious dick that is!" Blaine bit into his lower lip and his eyes travelled down to rest on the sight of Kurt's pants for a second before coming back to his senses and he went on stammering, "I just... okay, to tell the truth I was surprised to see you join the girls! I just wondered if it was for a particular reason. That's all! Now you can go on kill me, but do it quickly, okay?"

Kurt stared him down for yet another awful second that felt like a lifetime, before unexpectately his face relaxed and he started giggling. "Oh dear, you should see your face right now, oh, too funny!" And then he slapped Blaine's arm playfully.

"Do you really expect me to rip your head off? Gosh! I'm not angry with you for asking. You should know you can ask me anything! I will never be mad at you. And in the unlikely case I should get mad at you for something, you know the best way to charm me again, don't you?" Kurt wiggled his shoulders in a flirtatious way and pursed his lips.

"Phew… you really had me scared for a second there," Blaine admitted and placed his hand on his heart. "Don't you ever do that again. I'm already upset enough about all of this!"

"You are? Why?" Kurt was clueless for a second but then the smile dropped off his face and he paled in realization. "Oh my God! You're not angry _with me_, are you? For joining the girls? And you are so right! I should've talked with you about it first but I just stomped off with the girls without even _thinking_ about what I was doing! I'm so sorry! I really didn't mean to hurt you or upset you baby, please believe me, I've just gone selfish all over again and got carried away with excitement, but if you want me to be with you and the boys then you just need to say it and I'll tell Mr Schue that I've changed my mind and…"

Kurt got himself in a panicked high speed rant that was hard to follow (but Blaine had enough practice by now) and was rather quite adorable. It reminded Blaine of the way Kurt had panicked when he'd told him that he had transferred.

"It's okay, Kurt. I'm not upset with _you_. Breathe, baby, breathe!" Blaine grabbed Kurt's arms and smiled at him in an assuring way. "I'm a big boy, and this is not the first day in kindergarten for me. I can handle being with the boys without having you around to look after me," Blaine winked at him. "Besides, I want you to do what you want, Kurt. Do what's good for _you_!"

Kurt let out a deep breath and relaxed again. "I'd love to team up with you Blaine, you know that. It's just that _for me_ it's more fun with the girls."

Why, why, why? Blaine wanted to ask this question so much, but he didn't want Kurt to feel like he had to explain himself or defend his decision. So he settled for saying, "Well, I think I'm just a little disappointed, because I always want to spend as much time with you as possible. But then again, you're a soprano, so I get why you wanna sing with the girls, I really do."

"Actually I need to apologise to you," Kurt said with a little embarrassed laugh. "I don't know if you noticed, but I was a bit confused when you hadn't followed me over to the girl's corner. I guess I'm really spoiled by having you around all the time," Kurt smiled sweetly at him and added with a tiny left-sided shrug, "but on second thought it would've been weird if you'd joined the girls as well."

Blaine frowned at this. "Why's that?"

Kurt raised his eyebrows. "I don't know. Because you've been at an all boys school for so long? You're used to hang around with guys in a way I never have been."

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense." Blaine felt like they were tiptoeing around the real topic at hand, but perhaps he was just imagining things. Maybe all of this was only in his head and no issue for Kurt at all.

"You go with the boys, Blaine," Kurt said, patting his boyfriend's arm. "Make yourself some friends. I've never been really friends with any of the boys to tell the truth."

"Well that's no surprise," Blaine grumbled. "I'm not sure I want to be friends with them, either."

Kurt narrowed his eyebrows. "Why? What happened?"

"It's just…" Blaine shrugged helplessly. "I guess I just realized today… you know, the way the guys see you? And I don't see you that way."

"What way?" Kurt asked softly for clarification.

"Like, you know, feminine? You've always been _Kurt_ for me. It never occurred to me to think of you as _girly_ and when I heard Puckerman and the other boys talk today..." Blaine felt the anger rising and inhaled deeply to keep calm.

"Let me guess," Kurt interrupted, "they were glad I wasn't with them? They're probably relieved they don't have to put up with my diva ideas... no doubt feathers were mentioned... Am I close?"

Blaine nodded and clenched his fists, God, it was hard to stay calm over this. "It's just... That's trash talk, you know? I don't even want to repeat any of it!"

"I know, Blaine, I know," Kurt said in a tender voice and stroked Blaine's arm to calm him down. "It's alright, honey."

"NO! IT'S NOT ALRIGHT!" Blaine exploded and banged one fist against Kurt's locker, making his boyfriend jump. "These guys are supposed to be your friends, dammit!"

Kurt looked at Blaine with sadness in his eyes and hugged himself.

"I'm sorry," Blaine held his hands up in defeat, apologizing for his outburst. "I didn't mean to damage school property."

"Don't worry," Kurt said and pointed with his chin to the abused locker door. "The dent in there isn't from you. I think it's from all the times I got shoved into it."

Blaine looked up with the most heartbreaking look of sorrow on his face. "Oh, Kurt..."

"I hate to remind you, Blaine, but this isn't Dalton," Kurt shook his head slowly. "We're not all best buddies around here, and I certainly wouldn't consider most of the guys in glee club my _friends_. But why does this upset you so much?"

"Why? Isn't it obvious? It bugs me that everyone around here seems to think of you as female and you're even going along with it! You're encouraging them in their preconceptions by joining the girls. I always assumed that the New Direction guys were your friends. But when I heard them talk about you today, especially Puckerman and Artie and, God, even Finn! I _really_ wanted to punch each one of them in the face, but then I just did nothing."

"Oh, believe me, I've wanted to punch some of them myself uncountable times over the past few years," Kurt said with a smirk. "I know exactly how you feel."

"One sweet day I'm gonna kick Puckerman's ass for what he said about you!" Blaine promised with a firm, serious voice. "Maybe on graduation day! Yeah... that's it!"

Kurt just shook his head at his boyfriend's violent fantasies. "Look, I feel better around the girls. I've never enjoyed myself with the boys. That's just the way it is," he explained with a shrug. "It may be hard to understand, but I love McKinley High. I love the glee club, I love my friends here, but Blaine, you don't know half of what I've gone through over the past years. Puckerman? He used to be the man in charge of throwing me into dumpsters."

"What?" Blaine exclaimed and felt the fury rise again. Sure, he had noticed that Noah Puckerman was kind of a badass, but he hadn't known that the macho with the mohawk had bullied Kurt! His plans on smacking this guy definitely took form in his head.

"However, today Puck and I conspire to make fun of Finn all the time," Kurt went on with a big grin on his face. "Do I know that he thinks I want to be a girl? Yes. Do I like him? No. Do I trust him to have my back when things get tough? Yes."

Kurt got his hair spray out and made generous use of it. Blaine had to fight back a sneeze while Kurt went on with his story.

"Finn tried to talk Sam out of dueting with me, because singing with me would paint a bull's eye on Sam's back, saying it would ruin his reputation if he sang with me. We're brothers now and believe me, he has expanded his horizons immensely. Just yesterday when he was under the shower he called me to bring him a new bottle of shower gel! I gave it to him with my eyes squeezed shut and he laughed at me for feeling embarrassed by the possibility of seeing his naked butt!"

Kurt closed the locker door and leaned against it, clutching his textbooks to his chest.

"Artie once told me that me wearing a sequined gown and a feather bow would be just what everyone expected me to wear anyway. I was always rejected, my ideas were always put down, I was reminded painfully every day of the fact that I was different and that being different means nobody takes you seriously. It still hurts today when I think of all these things and I will never forget and for the most part never forgive either. But those are _my_ feelings, _my_ experiences with them."

Kurt absent-mindedly picked a stray hair off Blaine's sleeve before he locked eyes with his boyfriend again and added in all seriousness, "I assure you, they've learned their lesson. Actually you get to see the developed version of the boys. They are the good guys, Blaine! They wouldn't let me face another homophobic jerk alone. I trust them to stand up for me and protect me. But to ask them to change the way they think about me or to stop being uncomfortable in my presence? We may get along pretty well now, but some things sadly never change. Still I want you to give them a chance to become friends with you. Okay?"

Blaine admired his boyfriend for being able to voice all these difficult feelings without holding a grudge against everyone. But there was still one more thing nagging at Blaine.

"I just don't get the difference they make between you and me. We're both gay, we both like singing songs that are originally sung by female artists. Hell, I sung Last Friday Night in front of the whole glee club and they loved it!"

"Baby, you sound so disappointed for not being bullied," Kurt teased him and raised his hands to adjust the collar of Blaine's shirt affectionately. "Look, Katy Perry and Pink are cool! Patti LuPone and Barbra Streisand, not so much."

Kurt shook his head slowly and smiled at him before adding with a shrug, "Let them trash talk as much as they want. You think the girls are any better? Most of the time I can't stand Santana's bitchiness and Brittany just drives me crazy with her comments and Rachel makes me want to bang her head against the wall _every single day_. But still I love them, because they accept me and I can be myself. The boys always make me feel like they don't really want me around and I just hope they treat you better."

"But it's not right," Blaine insisted. "They shouldn't make you feel left out. You're one of the guys, Kurt."

"I don't really care anymore. I used to think a lot about stuff like that, but honestly? I've embraced my inner diva and I just wanna have some fun. When I'm around the girls I can sing Gaga songs, I can come up with ideas for fashionable show costumes and I can suggest Broadway numbers without being groaned at. And besides, I don't like the boys song choices," Kurt rolled his eyes. "They always want to do those stupid rock numbers. Nothing against rock music," he added quickly. "I really loved to see you rocking to _Hot for teacher_. I truly admire how multifaceted you are, honey, you're a true all-rounder. Whereas I rather stick with Broadway numbers," Kurt leaned in and cupped his mouth with one hand in a confidential way, "and I don't want Rachel to have all the fun for herself."

Blaine chuckled at this and looked at his boyfriend with wistful, loving eyes.

"If all this makes me girly in their eyes, so be it," Kurt said with a shrug. "I don't see myself as girly. But I'm aware that I do have some effeminate ways, like my passion for fashion or like the way I am hopelessly romantic." A playful smile danced along his lips as he looked his boyfriend up and down. "By the way you look very handsome today, if you want my fashionable expert opinion."

"Thank you," Blaine replied, his throat thick with emotion. He was stunned by how amazing his boyfriend was, and how Kurt had learned to let all this crap just roll off his back and was able to smile although the hate around him was palpable at times.

"Hey, baby, don't you wanna smile for me?" Kurt asked with a pouty face and wiggled his shoulders again in that adorable way. "I know you can do it! There's gotta be a smile hiding somewhere, I've seen it before!" Kurt now poked his finger playfully into Blaine's left cheek.

Blaine ducked his head and couldn't help but smile at his boyfriend's silliness.

"There it is!" Kurt cheered and clapped his hands. "And look how cute it is," Kurt went on with an extreme high pitched voice. "That's the one I've been looking for. Awww, I wanna give it a kiss..." Kurt sighed and continued to stare at Blaine's mouth and suddenly there was an unmistakable spark of sexual tension passing between them and from one second to the next Blaine got really turned on by the way Kurt's eyes were glued on his mouth.

"Kurt... I wanna kiss you _so bad_ right now," Blaine said with a deep low voice and looked up at his boyfriend with a sheer want in his eyes. His fingers firmly grasped the strap of his messenger bag, because he needed something to hold or else he'd grab his boyfriend in the middle of the crowded hallway and kiss him down.

After taking a deep breath to get his own rush of longing under control, Kurt smiled smugly at him. "I know," he said with a smirk. "And probably every student walking by knows, too, because it's written all over your face, baby. Honestly? You need to work on your pokerface. Look at mine."

Kurt straightened up, crossed his arms in front of his chest and put on an indifferent expression mixed with a little bit of his brandmarked 'bitch, please' gaze. "So, what do you think I'm thinking?" Kurt asked him.

"You look like you don't give a shit about what I think," Blaine stated matter-of-factly. Kurt's face softened and a smile tucked at the corners of his mouth as he made one of those 'hmm' noises that went right down Blaine's spine.

"So what are we gonna do about your problem now?" Kurt asked sensuously and traced one of his fingers down the button line of Blaine's shirt.

"Which problem?" Blaine tried his best 'I don't know what you're talking about' face, but he couldn't hide the shiver that went through his body at the touch of Kurt's fingertips.

"The 'I want to kiss you right now or else I'm gonna die' problem," Kurt helped him out and winked at him. He checked his watch and then announced, "We still have ten minutes before next class. Follow me if you are so inclined, dear sir, I know just the place."

Blaine arched his eyebrows in surprise. This was a first. Oh, they had sneaked a lot of kisses backstage of the auditorium, (Maria would constantly catch her Tony tongue-locked with Officer Krupke during rehearsals), but they'd never before gone somewhere just for this purpose. So of course Blaine followed his boyfriend like a happy puppy and ended up in the empty class room of Home Economics.

"Mrs Hagberg is sick for over a week now and ever since her class room is abandoned," Kurt explained with a low voice and closed the door behind them. The shutters on the windows were down, so they stood in the semi-darkness with just a little ray of light spilling in from under the door. Blaine reached for the switch but Kurt grabbed his hand and whispered, "Don't or else someone in the hallway sees the light and comes in."

"Is this on your bucket list, too?" Blaine asked with a chuckle. "Sneaking into an empty classroom and making out with your boyfriend?"

"Oh, shut up and kiss me," Kurt retorted and put his arms around Blaine's neck to pull him near. Their lips met and Blaine instantly wrapped his arms around Kurt's waist and pressed their bodies together. A delicious moan escaped Kurt's throat when Blaine hungrily split his boyfriend's lips with his tongue to deepen the kiss while at the same time his lower body began moving against Kurt's, causing some welcome friction.

"How about we skip class," Blaine asked between kisses, "and stay here for a while? I'd love you to teach me a lesson in male anatomy," Blaine tugged impatiently at Kurt's shirt and dug his hands deep into the back of his boyfriend's pants, "and I really think I need to give that mysterious bulge in the front of your pants a closer look..."

"Less talk and more action, _please_," Kurt panted and claimed his boyfriend's mouth again while his hands were busy fumbling with Blaine's zipper and...

"Uhm, excuse us, guys," a small voice came from somewhere in the dark behind them and Kurt and Blaine jerked apart.

Blaine searched the wall for the switch and when the lights finally went on a very ragged looking Tina came up from behind a table, followed suit by Mike who was just zipping up his pants.

"Hey Tina and Mike," Kurt waved at them, apparently flustered, "what are you guys doing here?"

"This is our hook up place for the past week," Tina explained and straightened her dress and smiled sheepishly their way. Kurt and Tina started giggling while Mike cleared his throat and declared, "I guess we should hurry to class, then."

"Oh yeah, we should probably, too," Blaine stammered and Kurt nodded along with a look at his watch, "Gosh, it's already that late? We need to hurry up, love." Kurt opened the door and shoved Blaine out, his face blushed but still giggling.

"We definitely need to make arrangements claiming the room," Blaine murmured at Kurt's side. "How did you know about this room anyway?"

Kurt shot him an apologetic glance. "Tina told me about it."

Blaine laughed at this. "See you later."

They parted at the end of the corridor to take different directions and Blaine's gaze lingered a moment longer on the backside of his love, before he headed to class. He got his phone out to quickly check for messages as he had the ring tone turned off at school. One look at the display and the smile on his lips died. He had received thirteen messages in the past hour. All of them from Sebastian Smythe.

* * *

><p><strong>Reviews? :D<strong>

**BTW, anyone who has heard Chris Colfer say 'Oh, look how cute you are in a princess dress' knows the voice Kurt's making when he talks about Blaine's cute smile. ;)**


	4. Sectionals

**Hi everyone! :D**

**You guys really blow me away! 11 reviews for chapter 3! A total of 26 reviews already! This year starts really good for me!**

**Thank you, everyone, it really means a lot to me that you seem to like this story just as much as I enjoy writing it! I have a lot of ideas for this, so prepare for a long ride! As some of you already know, I'm not one for short stories ;)**

**I love you all, but a special THANKS and HUGS and U!R!AWESOME! has to go to colfermentalhead, WaitingForThisMomentToBeFree, normallyweirdm and Poland1228! You guys rock and make my days so much brighter whenever I hear from you! :D**

**This chappie is a little bit of rest for Blaine before things get heavy for him...**

* * *

><p><strong>Sectionals<strong>

When Blaine got home, he pushed the door open with his hips, balancing two big grocery bags in his arms as well as another shopping bag dangling from his right wrist, his school bag over one shoulder, and his keys clutched in his hand.

"Hi there, I'm home!" He shouted out into the stillness of the house as he shoved the door shut with his backside, and then leaned down to switch on the lights with his nose.

There was an immediate response to his call.

"Meowww!" A pearl white cat rushed down the stairs towards him, dancing around his legs and purring in high volume.

"Careful, Tiffy, let me get into the kitchen first, okay? Yeah, I'm happy to see you too, sweetie!" Blaine pushed his shoes off, careful not to step on furry paws, before he continued his way into the house.

He dropped the grocery bags on the table of the dark kitchen and then turned around to switch the lights on. His school bag hit the floor unceremoniously as he finally bent down to greet the excited cat.

"Tiffy, Tiffy, Tiff! Good girl, come here!" Blaine picked her up and held her against his chest where he could feel her little body vibrate with her purring.

"How's your day? Have you been patroling the windows? Any interesting stuff going on at the neighbors?" Blaine reached out for the bags and fetched a little can out of one of them. "Looky what I got here for you, sweetie-pie."

Tiffany's yellow eyes following his every move with anticipation. "Tuna fish! Yeah, I know you like that! I really shouldn't spoil you this much."

He opened the can, spooned the fish into a bowl and put it on the table, so the cat could eat it there. Tiffany loved eating on the table. His mother would probably die if she knew he fed the cat there. But she wouldn't see it anyway.

Blaine went back into the foyer to hang up his windbreaker on the rack and to check the answer machine. Sure enough there was a message from his mother. No doubt this one would be exactly the same to the messages of the past few days. He pushed the play button anyway.

At first he heard the significant loud sigh annunciating that Elaine Anderson was annoyed. "Hi, it's me. So, yeah, I have to work late again. Order yourselves something, okay? No need to wait for me, I'll eat a little something in the office. Bye! Oh, and don't forget to feed the cat, Blaine!"

Blaine snorted. As if he'd forget to feed the cat. When was the last time his mother had actually taken care of the cat?

He hadn't seen much of his mother for days. His father was even worse. It eluded him why his mom still addressed her husband in her voice messages. For the past few months his father had never been home before midnight.

Blaine turned on the little TV in the kitchen to drown out the silence and began storing the groceries away. Eventually he put some pasta snack into the microwave and looked up at the clock on the wall. It was way too early to call Kurt. They spoke each night, but not before eight. Right now Kurt would be sitting at the table with his parents and Finn, enjoying dinner and talking about how their day had been.

Blaine propped his chin in his hand, watching Tiffany devour the tuna and licking clean her bowl with dedication.

Blaine imagined the dinner conversation in the Hummel-Hudson house. Finn and Kurt surely would be telling their parents about the upcoming girls vs boys competition including the fact that Kurt was with the girls. Would Burt and Carole be surprised? Or would they have expected as much? Would they voice any concern or simply put up bets on the winner team?

For a second Blaine imagined telling his own parents about the competition, but the thought was too weird. The last thing his parents cared about was a high school glee club competition.

The ping of the microwave brought him back to the here and now.

"C'mon, Tiffy, let's go upstairs." He took his food and his shopping bags up to his room, the cat following on his heels.

First thing he did was put some music on and start up his laptop. He checked his emails whilst shoving noodles into his mouth.

Blaine frowned when he saw five emails from Sebastian in his in-box. With an annoyed sigh he deleted each email without reading them.

"Talk about persistent," Blaine uttered and glanced over to his cat that was inspecting her reflection in his fullbody mirror. "You should be glad you don't have a love-crazed tomcat on your trail, Tiff. This guy is really pissing me off."

Most of the time Sebastian's messages were harmless. The Warbler-boy mainly wrote to say hello, make suggestions for weekend activities (as if Blaine ever wanted to go to _Scandals_ with him again!), or send him links to funny youtube clips or tumblr blogs that amused him. But after a while his mails had turned into a smooth blend of ostentation and seediness that was supposed to be funny, but Blaine didn't really catch the joke.

One time Sebastian had send him a link with the note "Do you like dogs? I'd love to play with these two." Being an animal lover Blaine had clicked on the link, only to find out he'd entered a porn website for gays. He found himself looking at a video clip of two guys doing it doggy style.

The day that Blaine had decided that he really didn't want anything to do with Sebastian Smythe had been the day of Sectionals. Just remembering the disturbing encounter with Sebastian after the showdown still made him cringe.

To make it short, Sebastian's annoying need to contact Blaine was completely unrequited. But Sebastian didn't seem to care, he just continued to spam him with emails.

So of course Blaine hadn't been happy today to learn that one of his Warbler friends had provided Sebastian with his phone number.

Blaine had texted back and forth with David who had investigated discreetly and found out that Thad had been the one giving out Blaine's phone number. Blaine hadn't wanted to make a fuss about it, but he told David that he should make sure none of the Warblers gave away his private information to just anyone who asked. When David had inquired what was wrong with Sebastian having his number, Blaine had just told him that he was annoyed by Sebastian's obtrusiveness.

"Always good to know you have friends that would happily tell a serial killer the way to your house," Blaine told his cat and finished his dinner, putting the plate on his desk and opening a can of diet coke.

Tiffany nudged her head against Blaine's leg and he reached down to pat her. "Don't worry, Tiff, this Sebastian guy's harmless."

He had also received emails from David and Nick, telling him how excited they were about the up-coming friendly competition.

The Warbler's had to face The Unitards which was a bit intimidating considering what an outstanding voice their lead singer Harmony, had. Nick, Sebastian and Thad were singing lead in turn at the Warbler's now. However, Thad seemed to suffer a great deal of stage-fright, so David didn't know how well he'd do in the competition. It was a good practice for Regionals, though.

David wrote that he was looking forward to see Blaine perform again and he had no doubt that Blaine and the New Directions boys would rock the house and be as great as they'd been at Sectionals.

Blaine typed a quick mail back, thanking David for the encouragement and trust in his abilities. He knew how disappointed David had been when Blaine had left Dalton, so it meant a lot to him to hear that David didn't hold a grudge.

Blaine considered thanking him again for his swift detective work earlier that day, but he didn't want to cause a stir. The Warblers were quite fond of their latest member, so Blaine didn't want to badmouth Sebastian.

He had deleted all of Sebastian's text messages off his phone immediately, not wanting for Kurt to ever accidentally see any of them and getting the wrong idea.

He closed his laptop again and swivelled around on this chair.

A look at his watch told him that it was still too early to call Kurt. With a sigh he walked across his room and collapsed on his bed, nearly crushing his shopping bags. Tiffany joined him on the mattress and happily purred into his ear, curling up around his head.

He closed his eyes and listened to his latest favorite's list on his iPod, dreaming away, but when the _Jackson 5 _began singing ABC (which along with Control and Man in the Mirror he'd added to his iPod to prepare for Sectionals) his mind drifted off back to his encounter with Sebastian.

* * *

><p>They had made it!<p>

Blaine couldn't believe it. He looked around at his teammates who were all drunk with joy and held on to Kurt who'd thrown himself into Blaine's arms. They had really won this thing!

Winning Sectionals with the New Directions was like nothing Blaine had experienced before. Being stuck in a team that was such a mess, Blaine had been at awe to see them stick together and create something outstanding. Doing the Jackson family mix of ABC, Control and Man in the Mirror had been amazing. They had worked hard for this, the dancing choreography had been hell and they had to concentrate hard to be on time. But with a great deal of eagerness, dedication and sweat mashed together, they had succeeded and it had been so, so worth it.

The New Directions carried their trophy into the choir room and went giddy with happiness for a while. With Kurt by his side, Blaine was so overwhelmed with joy and love that he couldn't think of anyplace in the whole wide world he'd rather be in this moment.

Soon it was decided that the group was to take off to celebrate their win at Breadstix. But before they left, Kurt and Blaine hurried back to the auditiorium to say hello to their friends the Warblers, who had been in the audience.

"Hey guys!" Blaine had watery eyes as he and Kurt were swept up in a group hug by their former glee club fellows.

"You were amazing!" Thad told them enthusiastically. "I mean we're used to your extraordinary talent, Blaine, but we had no idea the New Directions were _that_ good with you in the mix!"

"Like I said," Sebastian cut in with that brandmarked smirk on his face. "If there's one guy that can whip New Directions into a legitimate threat, it's Blaine Anderson."

"I'm so glad you came see us, guys!" Blaine said to his friends, simply ignoring Sebastian's comment. "I was thrilled to know you were in the audience to cheer us on! It really means a lot to me that you're here!"

"Of course we came," David said with a chuckle. "If only to spy on our up-coming competition."

"Yeah, looks like we'll meet at Regionals," Nick patted Blaine's shoulder. "We won't be so nice to you guys then."

"By the way Kurt, your stunt in the middle of ABC was awesome!" David said excitedly. "I didn't know you had it in you!"

"Oh please, it was just a silly jump over someone's back," Sebastian murmured next to Blaine with a roll of his eyes.

"Why thank you, David," Kurt replied with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes and of course Blaine noticed. Apparently Kurt was just as pissed by Sebastian's presence as he was. "It's always fun trying something new," Kurt was telling the boys, "and I'm not one to shy away from physical challenges. Or a good ol' fight for something that's totally worth fighting for..."

Blaine arched his eyebrows in surprise when he caught the disquieting death glare Kurt gave Sebastian for a second before his boyfriend turned his attention with the sweetest smile back to David and Nick.

"So have you ever tried flic-flacs?" Nick asked all business-like and Kurt launched into a conversation with the boys about difficult choreographies when Blaine suddenly felt a hand on his back and a whisper in his ear that gave him the chills.

"Can I talk to you alone for a minute?"

"I don't have much time, Sebastian," Blaine said excusatory. "We're about to leave with the team to celebrate and…"

"Just one minute. Come on!" Sebastian gave him a charming smile and being the ever suave boy that he was, Blaine followed him down the hallway. But the second Sebastian had steered him away, there was a twist in Blaine's stomach. "What was it you wanted to say?"

"I just wanna tell you, wow! Really, I'm stoked!" Sebastian said admiringly as they slowly walked down the hallway. "This was the first time I saw you perform and you just blew me away! You were _amazing_!"

"Thank you," Blaine smiled politely at the Warbler, "but you know, I wasn't alone onstage. I can't take all the credit for myself."

"You were the only one worth looking at!" Sebastian countered. "And I couldn't take my eyes off you! I thought I was digging this schoolboy thing you had going on, but there's so much more to you. Seeing you doing MJ was hot as hell!"

"Well I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the performance," Blaine said emotionless, making it clear that he didn't appreciate Sebastian's advances. He stopped walking before they got too far away and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"So, I guess I should better get back," he pointed over his shoulder with his thumb. "Kurt will wonder where I went."

"You have no idea how sexy you are in these pants and white blazer, Blaine Anderson," Sebastian went on with an alluring edge in his voice. "You make me wanna drop down on my knees and give you a blowjob right here and now. Literally."

Blaine gaped at him for a second before deciding it was best to just laugh at this.

"Just say one word and I'll do it," Sebastian looked him up and down in all seriousness. "I tell you I can do things with my tongue I bet you haven't even dreamed of, because you have no clue that someone can make you feel such an intense pleasure."

"This isn't funny anymore, Sebastian," Blaine backed off. "Stop talking to me like that."

"Why? Does it turn you on and you're afraid to let it show?" Sebastian arched his brows with a smug look on his face.

Blaine just shook his head in disgust. "Look, I admit that I felt a bit flattered when we first met and you were so straightforward. But I told you that I have a boyfriend and you need to respect that. I am not interested in you. So just leave me alone, okay?"

"Woah, I'm sorry." Sebastian held up his hands. "I didn't mean to keep you from meeting your boyfriend somewhere backstage to be at your service. Say, is he any good at it? I bet not, 'cause you're his first and he hasn't have any practice yet."

"This conversation is over, Sebastian. Goodbye."

Blaine turned to leave, not willing to listen to this crap any longer.

"Well, yeah, go and enjoy your precious boyfriend sucking you off," Sebastian said with a whiff. "But trust me, as soon it gets boring, you'll want me."

Blaine turned around again, laughing out loud in frustration and throwing his hands in the air. "Geez, do you even hear yourself talk? You're disgusting!"

"Oh killer," Sebastian smirked at him. "You're so easy to wind up, it's fun."

Blaine shook his head, chuckling in annoyance. "Sebastian, how can I make you understand that whatever you want to happen between us, it won't happen!" He folded his hands in pleading. "I'm asking you nicely, please, please, leave me alone."

Sebastian smiled at him and ducked his head in defeat. "Okay, okay, but I'll remind you of your words the day you come running after me."

Blaine dragged a hand down his face and a chuckle escaped his throat again. There was nothing else to do but laugh at Sebastian's ridiculous arrogance. "You really think you're the jackpot, don't you?"

"Why don't you let me show you what you're missing?" Sebastian said in that cocky voice of his and stepped closer, making Blaine step back. Just then Blaine heard footsteps down the hallway quickly coming closer and he saw Sebastian's eyes flicking over his shoulder to the approaching person behind him, a fleeting look of dislike on his features before he turned his eyes back on Blaine, leaning in closer as if wanting to create an air of intimacy.

"My offer stands," Sebastian announced loudly with another one of his lewd stares. "Anytime, tiger! Just give me a call!"

Blaine opened his mouth to tell the presumptuous Warbler that he'd grow old waiting for that call, but before he could say so, they were interrupted.

"Here you are, Blaine!" This was Kurt, sounding slightly out of breath, making Blaine wince and hope dearly Kurt hadn't overheard any of Sebastian's crazy words.

"Well, Sebastian," Kurt stepped up right next to his boyfriend and slid his hand into Blaine's. "I hope you don't mind if I take Blaine with me. Our teammates are leaving in a minute and I don't want us to be late for our celebration. I suppose you're finished with whatever it is you needed to talk with Blaine about?"

"Yeah, I said all I wanted to say," Sebastian confirmed and shoved his hands in his pockets. "See ya around." With a sneaky grin on his face he walked away.

For a moment the two of them just stood there, watching the Warbler leave.

"I'm sorry," Kurt said softly, lacing his fingers into Blaine's. "I shouldn't have interrupted your chit-chat with Sebastian. You can talk to anyone you want to. Just because I don't like him doesn't mean you can't be friends with him."

"He's not my friend," Blaine hurried to say. "Believe me, he's a pain in the butt and no matter how often I tell him so, he doesn't seem to get it."

"You don't like him?" Kurt blinked in surprise and a happy grin danced along the corners of his mouth.

"I can't stand him!" Blaine clarified. "And I just told him to leave me alone."

"Really?" Kurt looked as happy as he'd looked just half an hour ago when they were told they'd won Sectionals. "So does this mean I can badmouth him in your presence, then?"

"We can badmouth him together, yes," Blaine confirmed with a chuckle.

"That's good to know." Kurt squeezed his boyfriend's hand and added with a hushed voice, "Because I really don't like his smirky meer cat face."

Blaine laughed even more.

"Let's hurry before our team leaves without us."

* * *

><p>Tiffany lay sprawled on his stomach, enjoying his warm hands stroking her.<p>

"Smirky meer cat face," he repeated with a laugh and Tiffany looked up at him as if feeling insulted. "How does he come up with stuff like that?"

Blaine couldn't help the idiotic grin that was plastered on his face just by thinking of his boyfriend. Impatiently he glanced at his watch again, it was still too early to call, but he tried his luck anyway. With a swift movement he picked up his phone and pushed one button. Of course his boyfriend was the first person on speed dial.

"Hey lover boy!" Kurt's voice floated through the phone happily and a warm, fuzzy feeling spread inside of Blaine, making his heartbeat speed up.

"Hey yourself, hot stuff!"

"You're a bit early, love, I'm not finished with chores yet. I have kitchen duty this week, so I hope you don't mind if I'm a bit distracted..."

"Uh, it's not eight yet? Sorry, there's gotta be something wrong with my watch..."

"You're a really charming liar, honey," Kurt chuckled. "But it's okay. You can entertain me while I scrub the kettles of our latest feast. My dad tried to cook and I swear he ruined three of our best pans. I don't think I will ever get the burnt meat out of this one... urgh!"

Blaine imagined his boyfriend standing in the kitchen armed with blue rubber gloves and wire wool going at the dirt and he chuckled so hard that his cat ran off, annoyed by the heaving of his chest.

"Are you laughing at me, Blaine Anderson?" Kurt asked in a mock-angry voice.

"No, no, no, I would never!" Blaine inhaled deeply to restore himself.

"So you need some entertainment, Mr Hummel? You'll be happy to hear that I can deliver promptly. You gotta know I'm a great entertainer," Blaine joked and was enthralled to hear his boyfriend laugh again.

"You are, baby, you are!"

"By the way, it may interest you that I went shopping today," Blaine told his boyfriend. "And I bought something that I'm planning on wearing to school tomorrow."

Kurt hummed on the other end of the line. "Let me guess. It's another bow tie!"

"Nope," Blaine replied, ignoring the unmistakable tease in Kurt's voice. "You'll never guess!"

Blaine drew a long fluffy item out of the bag on his bed and held it above his head with an outstretched arm. The purple feather boa which he'd purchased at a store for Halloween costumes fell into his face and tickled his nose. With a wicked smile he imagined the New Direction guys' reaction to seeing him wearing this to school. He wanted to dare them saying one word about it!

"What is it then?" Kurt asked with curiosity.

"I won't tell you, babe! You'll see it for yourself first thing tomorrow morning."

* * *

><p><strong>Hands up anybody who wants to be a cat called Tiffy-Tiffy-Tiff in the Anderson residence? Sleeping the day away until Blaine comes home and spoils me and cuddles me and tells me everything that's on his mind? Sounds like heaven! I bet there are a lot of cats out there who would sell their soul to be in Tiffany's place. ;)<strong>

**.**

**Next chapter: **

**Blaine comes to school proudly wearing a purple feather boa. What do you think is gonna happen? I tell you this much: It's not gonna be a good day for Blaine - and for Kurt...**


	5. One Of The Boys I

**One Of The Boys – Part I**

Blaine arrived way too early for school. He parked in his usual spot a bit off on the far end of the parking lot where he knew Kurt usually parked, too. He stayed in the car and listened to some music, waiting for his boyfriend when a black SUV parked nearby and Blaine noticed Artie sitting on the passenger seat.

The driver – apparently Artie's father – got out and walked to the back of the car, opened the trunk and got the wheelchair out. With ease and routine Artie's father rolled the chair up next to the passenger door, opened it and leaned in. Blaine watched as the man put his arms around Artie's back and underneath his legs to carry him out of the car and place him into the chair.

All of a sudden Blaine felt guilty for watching, like he witnessed something he shouldn't be seeing. It made him wonder if Artie always got to school this early so no one would see him being carried by his father. Sure, Artie must be used to it, but to still feel the indignity after all these years? That must be harsh. Apparently Artie didn't want anybody to see him like this, vulnerable, dependend, helpless.

As he watched his fellow glee clubber, it occurred to Blaine that Artie surely must take a lot of crap for his handicap, especially at this school.

With a solemn face Artie shoved at the wheels with both hands and rolled along the sideway towards the school. He checked out the cars in the parking lot to see who was already in and who wasn't. When he passed Blaine's car Artie noticed him still sitting inside. Blaine held up one hand in greeting and Artie immediately waved back, a big smile flashing up his face.

Artie was a good guy, Blaine thought to himself. It must be hard for a kid in a wheelchair to become part of a group. You would do anything to be included, to get some friends. Artie must know exactly how it feels to be an outcast, to be constantly ignored and to have to fight for some respect.

So why did he say those mean things about Kurt? Maybe Artie was just copying Puckerman to earn the respect of the badass guy? The two of them shared a weird friendship that Blaine couldn't quite grasp yet.

After all it was hard to be one of the boys.

Blaine glanced into the rearview mirror and noticed Kurt's car pulling up. Swiftly he got out of his car, reached back in to retrieve the plastic bag from the passenger seat and got the purple boa out of it. He swung it around his neck and draped it over his black coat. Then he leaned casually against his car with an innocent smile, waiting for Kurt's reaction.

Kurt parked right next to Blaine's car and got out. The second his eyes fell on his boyfriend Kurt's eyes widened and a big grin spread on his face.

"Oh my Gosh, what are you doing?" Kurt squealed and hurried to Blaine's side. "Is this what you've been talking about?" Kurt tugged at the purple boa fondly and let it run through his fingers.

"It is," Blaine confirmed with a proud smile. He would've loved to kiss Kurt hello, but standing in the parking lot of McKinley High… No way, he couldn't.

"You really can't wear this to school, Blaine," Kurt stated along with a fit of giggles.

"Why not? Don't you like it?" Blaine adjusted the boa and played with one ending. "Because I am gonna wear this today."

"Oh, no, no, no! You won't!" Kurt protested at once. "Take it off now, love. You're not at Dalton anymore."

Blaine laughed at this. "You mean at Dalton I could've worn this?"

Kurt raised an eyebrow at him. "Honey, at Dalton you could've worn a tutu to a Warbler's meeting and the council wouldn't even have raised a brow at you before banging the gavel and declaring that tutus were to be an indisputable addition to the Warbler's outfit."

Blaine scrunched up his face in doubt.

"They _loved_ you!" Kurt reached out and gently pulled the boa off his boyfriend's neck. "But I don't think you'll receive much love at McKinley wearing this."

Kurt draped the boa around his own neck and admired the softness of it. "Besides, it's really not your color. You should rather go with red or gold."

Blaine bowed his head in defeat, a smile curling up his lips.

"Oy, Lady Hummel!"

They both turned to scowl at the gang of hockey players walking by.

"Getting ready for your big trans show in _Scandals_ tonight?" Rick Nelson also known as Rick the Stick called out to him and received bigs laughs from his friends.

Blaine clenched his fists and opened his mouth to shout a reply, but Kurt stopped him by squeezing his arm and shaking his head quickly. "Don't."

Instead Kurt addressed Rick himself. "Can't wait to see you there again tonight, girlfriend!" Kurt shouted over to the hockey player in a singsong voice. "But don't wear that pink dress again, Ricky, it just doesn't suit your eyes!"

"What was that?" One of the hockey players asked astonished as if taking Kurt's words for real.

"Fuck you, Hummel!" Rick shouted back to restore some of his dignity and manly pride and then dragged his gang along.

Kurt just rolled his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Kurt," Blaine apologized with a sigh. He felt so bad, because he had brought this stupid boa to school and immediately Kurt got a mean comment thrown his way just for holding it up.

"There's nothing to be sorry for, Blaine," Kurt replied with a smile. "Except for the fact that Rick the Clown had to repeat his senior year so we're pleasured with his loud and awful smelling presence for longer. But, you know, _could be worse, could be raining_."

Blaine pointed at his boyfriend, "Is that from _Young Frankenstein_ or _Latter Days_?"

"Both," Kurt laughed, "because in _Latter Days_ they quote it from _Frankenstein_." Unconsciously he swayed on the spot and fumbled with the boa which was adorable in Blaine's eyes.

"Now, give it back to me, please," Blaine held out his hand. "I want to wear it. I want to show them all that I..."

"I know, Blaine," Kurt broke in and suddenly looked at him all serious. "I know what you're trying to do. You want to show them all that we belong together and that you're just as gay as I am. But _this_," Kurt waved with one end of the boa, "this isn't you! Don't change yourself for me, not for anyone, okay?"

"No." Blaine crossed his arms over his chest and pouted like a five year old. "No, it's not okay, Kurt. I don't like the way they treat you differently and I just ..."

"Blaine, I mean it. I'm not letting you enter _this_ school wearing _this_," Kurt locked eyes with him, all serious, making sure Blaine understood. "You haven't been slushied so far and I don't want it to happen. Believe me, it's like being bitch-slapped by an iceberg and it's not something you'd want to experience."

When Blaine finally gave a slight nod, Kurt smiled again. "Also – and I'm saying this as your boyfriend and as your fashion advisor – you really can't rock that look!"

Blaine laughed and shook his head. "Well, yeah, I wasn't intending on looking good with that thing, I just wanted to raise some attention."

"This says the same guy who was afraid of me raising attention by wearing a kilt to junior prom," Kurt reminded him.

"That was different," Blaine protested, although he wasn't really sure about it and luckily Kurt didn't ask him to elaborate. Instead...

"So, can I keep it?" Kurt asked with a wiggle of his shoulders and a pretty-please smile.

"Uhm," Blaine narrowed his brows, slightly taken aback. Why would Kurt want to keep that thing that surely meant nothing but trouble?

Before he could answer, they were joined by Tina who suddenly appeared at Kurt's elbow. "Hi guys! Kurt, we have English now. Are you coming?"

"Hey Tina, look what Blaine got me!" Kurt waved with the purple boa at her.

"Oh, it's beautiful!" Tina exclaimed and couldn't help but touch the boa. "Wow, I wish my boyfriend would give me such special gifts!"

The two of them launched into a cheerful conversation about accessories and Blaine followed them inside. When they parted to head for different classes, Blaine wanted to tell Kurt to take the boa off, but Kurt already hurried off, arms linked with Tina.

And as Blaine walked to his own class, Kurt's voice still floated in his mind.

_This isn't you! _

Blaine was kind of astonished by how Kurt sounded so sure about who he was or wasn't. Most of the time Blaine didn't really have an idea who he was himself.

_I am searching, okay? _

_I'm honestly just trying to figure out who I am. _

He remembered a conversation – an argument actually – he'd had with Kurt long before they got together. He'd been conflicted then, contemplating whether or not he perhaps was bisexual. Even back then Kurt had been so sure about the essence that Blaine was made of. Still sometimes it felt like Kurt could see into a part of Blaine's soul that he had completely lost seeing in himself.

So he had learned to trust Kurt more than he trusted his own judgement at times.

* * *

><p>After two dull hours of American History Blaine kind of sleepwalked to his locker to get some textbooks for his next class, Geography. As he arranged his books, his eyes fell on the brooch lying in his locker. Kurt had left it at his place last weekend and he'd brought it to school but kept forgetting to give it back to him. It was a bird with open wings, golden with several diamonts placed on it, fake of course, and very, very tacky.<p>

Without second thought Blaine pinned it on his black shirt, just above the heart. Then he grabbed his latest copy of Vogue. It was no purple glitter boa, but it was the start of an experiment. See whether or not the guys would treat him differently if he started acting effeminate.

He closed his locker door, shouldered his bag and clutched the Vogue magazine to his chest, making sure it stuck out for everyone to see. With his chin raised high he got on his way to his next class.

He hadn't gotten far when all of a sudden Quinn Fabray was walking next to him.

"Hello Blaine. How do you do?"

Blaine was a little taken aback since the girl had never talked to him before. She wore a white dress and a yellow cardigan, with her short blond hair and blue eyes she looked all pretty and innocent.

"Uh, hello Quinn. I'm doing great, thank you. How are you?"

"I'm just fine, thank you," she replied in her calm, low voice. "Say, is this the latest copy of Vogue?"

"Why, it is!" Blaine beamed at her. "It's one of my favorite magazines. Kurt and I gush over it all the time. Every day at bedtime we talk on the phone and flick through our copies and tell each other which pages we like best!"

"That's so sweet." Quinn looked at him with the loveliest smile plastered on her face before she addressed him in her soft and breathy way of speaking, "Put it away."

Blaine arched his eyebrows at her questioningly, sure he had misunderstood. "I beg your pardon?"

"I said put it into your bag. Now." She repeated slowly, but sternly, with that bedazzling smile still on her lips but her eyes all cold and strict. She surely was used to giving orders and while Blaine usually liked following the rules, this time his intention was to break some.

"No, I'm not," Blaine replied, affecting his best coolness. "I'm reading this, so why can't I carry it around?"

"Because you're risking getting slammed into the next locker for publicly displaying your gayness."

And just now Blaine noticed that all the while they were talking Quinn's eyes were scanning the crowd of students in the hallway as if she was on the watch.

"Well, I appreciate your concern, but I think it's none of your business really."

"Actually, it is." Quinn stepped in his way to stop his stride and for the first time she looked him square in the eyes.

"Kurt has asked us girls to keep an eye on you and stop you from doing something stupid. So, here I am." Quinn gently tugged the magazine out of Blaine's grasp. "I promise I'll take good care of this and you get it back after school. I haven't read this one yet anyway, so it's my pleasure."

"Wait. What did Kurt tell you?"

"It was Mike, actually." Quinn hugged the magazine to her chest. "He told Tina about how the guys talked about Kurt yesterday, when he chose to join the girls group and Tina told us. We asked Kurt about it and he said that you had already told him all about it and that you seemingly took it very bad. Kurt was afraid you were up to something to payback the guys."

Blaine sighed and bit down on his lips, shaking his head in annoyance. He didn't know exactly why he was bothered by Quinn approaching him and hearing about Kurt thinking he needed a babysitter –a whole bunch of babysitters, actually, since apparently all the girls were in the loop.

"I don't see why I should hide!" Blaine started arguing. "What if I have an effeminate side, too, just like Kurt? What if I wanted to show off some of it? Will I be cut off by the boys then, too?"

"I see. You're a man on a mission." Quinn nodded at him in acknowledgement. "But like all great men that go to war you're leaving someone behind who's worried sick about you."

Her words caused an immediate crack in his shining armor. Blaine had never mangaged to keep up his defenses for long. "What do you mean?"

"Kurt loves you." Quinn cocked her head at him. "He'd do anything to make sure you're alright and happy. That includes making sure _you_ don't do anything stupid and getting hurt along the way! Do you have any idea how scared he is about you getting slushied or bullied by one of the neanderthals at this school?"

Blaine's heart was beating up his throat now and he tried to swallow it down. "I know what it's like going to public school," he finally managed to say. "Kurt doesn't need to protect me and..."

"Look, Blaine," Quinn said, lowering her voice as if speaking to him confidentially, "you're gay, but you're still one of the boys. You should embrace that. It's one of the reasons why you got to play Tony in the musical and Kurt didn't."

The superior look on Quinn's face was softening. "It's also something that Kurt loves about you and I bet at the same time envies you for, at least a little bit. Kurt will never be one of the boys. He knows that, so he settled for not even trying anymore."

"It's just all so stupid," Blaine dragged a hand over his face and rested it in his neck.

"C'est la vie." Quinn raised her shoulders. "Kurt's a girl at heart. That's a fact, even if he won't admit it out loud. He's one of us and we're watching out for one another."

Quinn turned around and resumed walking, Blaine following at her heels. "And don't worry, we've prepared a little something to pay back the boys for their trash talk."

When Blaine opened his mouth to ask, she held up her hand. "I'm not at liberty to tell, but you'll see at glee club today."

At the corner of the hallway, she stopped again, addressing him with one of her lovely smiles, "Oh, by the way, if you ever break Kurt's heart, you'll have to deal with an angry mob of girls coming after you."

Quinn reached out to pat his chest, then waved at him and left. Blaine caught the glimpse of something golden in her hand and when he glanced down at his shirt, he noticed she'd taken the bird brooch away.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Blaine," Mike leaned over his desk in the middle of Geography and whisper-called, "Mrs Hagberg is said to be ill for yet the whole week. How about Tina and I get the classroom in between classes and you and Kurt for lunch break?"<p>

Blaine was surprised by this unexpected offer and immediately accepted. "Cool."

"But," Mike lowered his voice even more, "don't spread the word, okay?"

"Course not." With a grin Blaine turned his attention back to the teacher at the chalkboard, but his mind was already way ahead with Kurt in that empty classroom for Home Economics, kissing, touching, melting away.

However, when he brought the good news about the arrangement to Kurt, his boyfriend rolled his eyes. "And you've agreed to that? That arrangement sucks! You've been taken in by Mike!"

"What? Why?"

"Because at lunch break you're supposed to eat lunch in the cafeteria along with your friends. If you and I are missing everyone will KNOW what we're up to. If Tina and Mike go missing in between classes no one will even notice. This way soon enough everyone will talk about us and how we can't keep it in our pants."

"So what?" Blaine shrugged and stuffed some textbooks into his locker and got other ones out. "I thought you didn't care about talk. Besides, everyone knows already Tina and Mike can't keep it in _their_ pants! And skirts. Whatever."

Kurt reached out and stroked Blaine's cheek with one ending of the purple feather boa. "Just leave it to me to talk to Tina for some adjustments to that arrangement, honey."

"Okay, then." Blaine closed his locker door and looked at his boyfriend who was leaning against the locker next to his, his fingers busy fiddling with the feathers. Kurt wore a white button-up shirt, black vest and white pants today. Of course the glittering purple color was sticking out.

"I'm confused, Kurt. Why can you walk around with the boa all day and I can't?"

Kurt raised his brows and a happy grin settled on his features. "First of all, I totally fell in love with this thing. I swear, each time I want to hide it away in my locker, I just can't let go, because it's so incredible fluffy!" Kurt sighed admiringly and his hands stroked over the silly thing so joyfully that Blaine instantly wished to disappear to the Home Economics classroom with Kurt right now and have his boyfriend caress him with such devotion.

"Also I keep thinking, what the hell? Why not show off my inner unicorn?" Kurt gave a one-shouldered shrug and smiled warmly at Blaine. "You on the other hand, Blaine, you're McKinley's shining musical star! You're the gorgeous Tony! Even teachers still call you Tony, because they can't remember your real name. Why destroy that reputation?"

Kurt poked one finger into Blaine's chest. "Besides, I told you already you can't rock that look!"

"Still, you don't need to wear it all day," Blaine muttered.

"Actually it's the perfect accessory for what I'm up to today," Kurt announced mysteriously.

"And what's that?" Blaine pushed himself off from leaning against his locker as his boyfriend moved to walk to his next class.

"Scare the boys a little," Kurt chuckled with a smug grin. "With some back-up from my fabulous girls."

"Quinn mentioned something like that earlier," Blaine said and when Kurt looked at him questioningly, he elaborated, "She took my Vogue away, because she thought it was too gay for me to carry it around. Kurt, you really didn't need to tell the girls to watch out for me. I'm not like a lemming, desperate to throw myself off the next cliff." He made a diving gesture that made Kurt laugh.

"I was just gonna do the same thing you're apparently up to: shock the guys a little and see how they react." Blaine shrugged as if there was nothing to it. "So, what are you and the girls gonna do exactly?"

"Look, I know you've been upset yesterday about the way the boys talked about me and you didn't want me to just take the crap." With a sigh and another one of his tiny shrugs Kurt turned serious again. "And I guess you were right. I shouldn't let them say about me whatever they want. However it was the girls idea to put up an impromptu performance at glee club today to intimidate the boys a little." Kurt gave him a little smile over his shoulder. "So watch out for that."

They met Rory at the corner of the hallway, waiting for them. "Hi guys!"

"Hi Rory," Kurt greeted him cheerfully. "How are you doing?"

"Ev'rything's great, thanks, Kurt."

"Just remember," Kurt raised one finger at the Irish boy, "if anybody's giving you a hard time, you come to me, okay?"

"Thanks, but no one's bothering me anymore. Knock on wood!" Rory knocked his fist against his head and grinned. "Must be 'cos I'm 'round Finn most of the time. No one's messin' with him."

"Well, Finn's had his fair share just like all of us," Kurt said with a little frown. "Sadly no one's immune to bullying at this school. I'm just glad to hear you're okay now, Rory. But if anything's going on, just let me know."

"I will," Rory smiled gratefully and looked at his watch. "Gotta go to maths. Blaine, you're in the same class, right?"

"Yeah, we can walk together." Being a junior Blaine happened to share a lot of classes with Rory.

"See you later, Kurt," Blaine reached out to stroke the length of Kurt's arm. Sometimes he really envied all the straight couples who could kiss hello and goodbye whenever they wanted. But then again it made the rare times they got to kiss each other even more special and wonderful and exciting.

"Later!" Kurt chirped and hurried down the hallway. Blaine watched him walk away and couldn't help the broad smile settling on his lips. He just loved the little bounce in Kurt's stride when his boyfriend was happy and confident.

"I really like Kurt," Rory said out of the blue as they walked side by side to their next class. "He's, like, really worried 'bout me gettin' bullied. Says he's had a rough time himself at this school, so now he's watchin' out for me. I'm kinda sad he's joined the girls, though. He's got a stunnin' voice! I can sing the high notes, too, you know? Back at home I sung Ave Maria ev'ry Sunday at church. The ol' ladies lov'd me!"

Rory wiggled his eyebows which made Blaine laugh.

"Kurt's a real inspiration, 'cos he's just himself, you know? I really admire that."

"Me, too," Blaine said and followed Rory into the classroom, happy to hear that at least someone could see beyond Kurt's shiny glittery appearance and acknowledge how awesome his boyfriend was as a person.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: This chapter is way too long so I decided to split it up in two. The second part will follow up in a few days. **

**I know you've expected Blaine to get into trouble for wearing the purple boa to school, but honestly, did you really think Kurt wouldn't take care of his man and stop him? Of course he doesn't let Blaine enter McKinley with a 'Hey I'm gay, beat me up' sign on his back. (OK, let's not talk about pink bow ties right now.)**

**But the day's not over yet and I can tell you already, the purple boa still means trouble and Blaine gets to punch someone! Watch out for that! ;)**

**Also Sebastian will show up soon-ish! **

* * *

><p><strong>To anybody who loves Rory as much as I do: How come there is hardly any fanfiction about him? If anyone knows a good fanfic of him, please tell me! The only good one I know so far is 'Risks' by Keitorin Asthore. <strong>

**Btw, I have quoted Chris Colfer in this chapter! Everybody who recognizes his words coming out of Kurt's mouth gets cookies and a shout-out from me! :D**

**Also, any guesses which number the girls and Kurt will be doing? Come on, it's kinda obvious, isn't it?**

**:)**

**Reviews?**


	6. One Of The Boys II

**One Of The Boys – Part II**

When Blaine entered the choir room with Rory right on his track the New Direction boys were talking agitatedly to each other.

"There he is! Hey, Anderson!" Puckerman shouted out and Blaine immediately tensed up, sensing that something was wrong when all of the boys looked over at him with grim faces.

"That would be me. What's going on?" He asked carefully and the grip around the strap of his messenger bag tightened whilst Rory hurried off to sit on one of the chairs in the back, clearly to be out of harm's way.

"We thought we'd better give you a fair warning," Finn spoke up, sounding friendly but serious, "you know, since you're not part of this group for very long and perhaps you didn't catch on what should be understood."

Slowly Blaine moved closer, not sure what this was all about. "Okay?"

"You know how the girls are," Mike said, for once not moving around all fidgety, but standing with his arms crossed and looking kind of pissed. "Words spread fast in McKinley and we guys need to stick together if we want to survive."

"What did I do wrong?" Blaine asked, and oh, my God, this was about him telling Kurt about the way the guys trash talked yesterday, wasn't it?

"Do you know the song _Diamonts are the girls best friend_?" Artie took off his glasses to clean them with his sleeve.

"Uhm, yeah," Blaine replied, but his brains were totally confused by now. What on earth was going on?

"The thing is we can't afford diamonts, Blaine," Finn elaborated and gestured with his hands like it should be obvious what he was trying to make Blaine comprehend. "So we have this pact that whenever one of us is about to make a generous gift to his girlfriend, it has to be agreed with us first."

"So…?" Blaine looked at Finn, still clueless and waiting for the light to switch on.

"Now, apparently you've given Kurt this glamerous boa thingy," Finn continued, "and all the girls are jealous and beat us up for not giving them such thoughtful amazing presents." He produced a paper from his back pocket, unfolded it and shoved it into Blaine's face. "See? Rachel even made a list with gifts she wants from me, things that none of the other girls have, so it will make her feel special."

"And Tina is whining at me all morning about wanting the same boa that Kurt has," Mike shared his troubles. "Only bigger, more glamerous and in pink!"

"This is about the boa?" Blaine asked incredulously. "Which I bought at a Halloween's costume store by the way and didn't even cost me five bucks."

"All we're asking is for you to stop giving Kurt exclusive gifts that make our girlfriends jealous and that we can't compete with," Finn declared for all of them.

"And while we're at it, Anderson, can you give us some tips?" Puckerman asked scooting over to stand at Blaine's side. "What can I buy to charm my lady?"

"Who _is_ your lady at the moment?" Artie turned to ask Puckerman with raised eyebrows, but the mohawked guy didn't seem to hear him.

"Yeah, tell us what we should get our girlfriends!" Sam came to Blaine's other side and confidentially put an arm around his shoulders. "I really need something special to impress Mercedes."

"I don't know what girls like," Blaine said with a shrug, sounding slightly annoyed and walking out of Sam's grasp.

"That's not true," Mike countered. "This is not the first time that Tina complains to me about how you give Kurt such awesome gifts."

"In case you haven't noticed, Kurt's not a girl," Blaine arched his eyebrows at the Asian boy, stopping himself from adding a really annoyed, "Duh!"

"Well, yeah, but he's close," Artie said with a shrug.

"No, he's not! And I won't have you dissing on my man any longer!" Blaine exploded, throwing his hands in the air and not caring about six guys staring at him in shock.

"And just so you know, the feather boa was _mine_! Kurt took it away from me! I didn't give it to him!"

There was silence for a long, long second in which Blaine breathed heavily, clenched his fists in anger and scowled at the boys.

Then...

The boys cracked up. They were squealing in delight (sounding much like the girls in this moment) and sure as hell they were peeing their pants as they had the laugh of their lives.

"What's so funny? I meant that," Blaine said in all earnesty. "I was gonna wear it to school today!"

Blaine just stood there with his arms crossed against his chest and didn't know what the hell was so funny and whether or not he should be offended and mad at the guys or just laugh along. His emotions were in a total chaos, so he settled for just shaking his head and pout.

"You're friggin' hilarious, dude!" Sam slammed his hand on Blaine's shoulder and shook him.

Artie rolled over to high five him. Blaine let out an exasperated sigh and ignored Artie's outstretched hand. Instead he stepped up the row of chairs to sit down in the back next to Rory who was giggling along with the guys, clearly just for the sake of it. But watching the guys laughing their heads off, Blaine couldn't let it rest, he had to ask.

"Okay, what's so funny about _me_ wearing a boa? But when Kurt wears it, it's okay?"

"What were you gonna wear that boa for, anyway, Anderson?" Puckerman was still laughing and turned in his seat to look at Blaine. "Hey, you don't really get why I'm laughing, do you? Because the most funny thing you said just now was 'my man' and referring to Kurt!"

"That's it!" Blaine stood up to go and punch him. "If that's no trash talk then I don't know what it is!"

Finn and Sam stepped in his way to hold him back. "Woah, easy! We're not dissing on Kurt, dude!" Finn said while grabbing Blaine's shoulders to make sure the shorter boy didn't attack Puckerman. "And you, shut up, Puck! – Look, Blaine, I wasn't laughing, because you said _my man_. I was laughing about the image of you wearing that boa thing, okay?"

Blaine huffed at this, but calmed down a little, looking up at Finn. "Then I repeat my question. What's so funny about that?"

"Oh, come on," Sam said, spreading his arms. "Kurt's, like, an artist. When I saw him perform this Victor/Victoria song, I was stunned, like, wow! He's a total exception. He can do and _wear_ anything without looking ridiculous! I mean, can you imagine one of us with a feather boa?"

"Right, it's just like those dudes on ballet with the tights who carry the ballerinas around," Finn nodded eagerly, agreeing with Sam. "You look at them and think, geez, that's so gay, but they're actually pretty awesome dancers. You can't compare yourself to someone like that. And Kurt, too, he's on a whole new level. None of us can compare to what he can do. So, don't even try." He finished with a shrug.

"So, basically you're saying you can't really relate to Kurt, because you think he's _better_ than you?" Blaine was partly in awe and a great deal confused.

"I tell you, if I had to place my bet on who of this group makes it to Broadway, my bet would definitely be on Kurt," Artie said and adjusted his glasses. "He's a male Rachel Berry. Very talented and very fierce when it comes to chase after his dreams."

"Yeah, and you're like the rest of us, Anderson," Puckerman said and Blaine raised his brows at the shock of being compared with the punk. "We're only here to have some fun. But when Kurt sets his mind on something he stops at nothing to get what he wants. Like that time when he had a crush on the Finnster," Puckerman jerked his thumb at Finn, "and he did all he could to nullify the competish. Hey, it was his fault that Quinn's parents kicked her out!"

"Kurt can be very persuading," Finn shrugged and made a face. "He talked me into singing a song about the baby and Quinn's parents just freaked. He also made Rachel think looking like a whore was the only way to win me over."

"But after all he's a good friend and you can totally rely on him," Sam spoke up once more with praise. "You know the time when I was living in that motel with my family? He wouldn't tell anyone about it, even when there was this rumor about him and me dating and his relationship with you was on the line. Still he didn't tell anybody about what was really going on. I gotta say I was really impressed by the bond you guys have, Blaine, because clearly he trusted you to trust him and I kinda realized that you two are, like, a really strong couple."

"That's true," Finn confirmed with a sigh. "I actually could never trust Quinn or Rachel so completely the way you trust each other. And every time Kurt talks about you it sounds like you're so perfect that it makes me want to puke all over the place." Finn held his hands up. "No offense."

Blaine tried to comprehend all of their opinions and the way they saw his boyfriend. It was a lot to take in and still he didn't know if he wanted to punch them all or hug them for seeing how special Kurt was. He just hated the thought of Kurt being left out, _because_ he was special.

The door opened and the boys looked up, expecting Mr Schue to come in. Instead it was the girls striding in like a military force, fierce faces and ready for battle. Kurt was up front, cat-walking through the room, nose raised high and feather boa waving behind him. Blaine was surprised to see his boyfriend walking up straight to where Noah Puckerman was sitting, the girls following close on his heels.

"Hey Puckerman, stand up!"

The addressed boy looked up and narrowed his eyebrows at Kurt. "Whassup?"

"I said get to your feet! I want you to be eye level with me when I deal with you!" Kurt's voice was dangerous and the boys looked up in sheer anticipation of a fight.

"What? You wanna punch me?" Puck grinned, but stood up anyway.

"Punch you? No, punching someone is so very macho behavior, isn't it?" Kurt cocked his head at him. "And I guess I'm not manly enough for that, right?"

"Alright, I get it." Puckerman opened his arms. "So you're gonna slap me across the face now, or what?"

Kurt lifted one brow in his best _bitch please_ manner, then reached out and twisted Puckerman's nipple, hard, making the tough guy cry out in pain and cursing heavily as tears sprang to his eyes.

"Shit! Hummel! That hurts, goddammit! What was that for?"

"Oh, I just thought I'd show you how _girly_ I can be," Kurt answered with a smug smile.

The New Direction girls and boys were snickering whilst poor Puckerman rubbed his chest, still a brave grin on his features. "Yeah, got it! Don't mess with a Hummel, right?"

"Right. Anybody else wanting a taste of Kurt Hummel girliness?" Kurt challenged but all the boys shook their heads wildly, except for Blaine who just looked highly amused. One could never be sure what was coming up next with his boyfriend.

"When I heard about the way you guys were talking about me yesterday at first I wanted to shrug it off, but the girls disagreed and to quote one of my besties, _Hell to the no!_" Kurt raised his hand and Mercedes high fived with him. "I want you to know that just because I joined the girls doesn't mean I see myself as one."

"But you once said yourself you were a girl," Puckerman now protested, still holding his chest in a protective way. "Remember when we were singing that stupid Madonna song about girls feelings?"

Kurt widened his eyes at him and clarified, "I said I was an _honorary_ girl. I was speaking up for the girls, because they weren't present and I felt the need to tell you guys that the way you treated the girls sucked. And why am I not surprised that this is the only thing you remember from that meeting? All of you!"

Kurt looked around at the boys. "Because I remember saying that this team only works, because we respect each other's talent. And if we wanted to take it to the next level, we had to start respecting each other as individuals and really see each other. It seems none of you have listened back then. So I'm here to remind you that me and the girls won't take any crap from you."

Santana stepped up to Kurt's side. "And watch out for the girls vs boys competition, because we'll totally bring it on! You won't stand a chance of winning this thing."

Rachel got to Kurt's other side and thread her arms through his. "And now we're gonna show you what real _girlpower_ is. Yay!"

Kurt and Santana both raised their eyebrows at Rachel's cheerful eagerness.

"You don't have to go all _Barbie_, Berry," Santana said with a shake of her head.

"What's going on, guys?" Mr Schuester came in and looked around, confused by the tensed up atmosphere. "What are you girls doing here? Didn't we agree that the groups should rehearse separated for the next two weeks?"

"Mr Schue, if I may?" Kurt raised one hand and waited for the teacher to nod. "The girls and I have prepared a little number which we would like to perform in front of the boys."

"Sure." Mr Schue walked across the room to take a seat along with the guys.

Rachel put her boom box on the piano and hit play before she stepped up to sing the first line while the girls and Kurt put up a swaying dance choreography behind her.

"I saw a spider I didn't scream  
>Cause I can belch the alphabet<br>Just double dog dare me, and  
>I chose guitar over ballet"<p>

Santana took over in her intimidating way of singing, waggling her finger at the guys and bitching out the lines,

"And I tape these suckers down  
>Cause they just get in my way<br>The way you look at me is kinda like a little sister,  
>Rubbed by your goodbyes<br>And it leaves me nothing but blisters"

Of course Blaine had recognized the song immediately, he was a Katy Perry expert after all. And he didn't like Kurt singing this song. At all. So when the chorus came up he watched as the girls and Kurt did a shimmy-shake number and belted out,

"So I don't wanna be  
>One of the boys<br>One of your guys  
>Just give me a chance to prove to you tonight<br>That I just wanna be  
>One of the girls<br>Pretty in pearls  
>And not one of the boys!"<p>

Now Kurt walked up to sing the next line, with Tina and Brittany flanking him and shaking their butts.

"I walked right into school, and  
>Caught you staring at me<br>But now you're gonna have to take a number  
>It's okay maybe one day<br>But not until you give me my diamond ring!"

Blaine grinned when he recognized Kurt, Tina and Brittany doing a sequence of their _Single_ _Ladies_ dance at this line, pointing to their fingers as for where the rings should be placed, and moving their hips in hypnotizing ways. Blaine looked around the room and the boys seemed to enjoy the performance, and Blaine did, too. Kurt was stunning and oh so sexy, but still Blaine didn't like the message of the song.

"Cause I don't wanna be  
>One of the boys<br>One of your guys  
>Just give me a chance to prove to you tonight<br>That I just wanna be  
>Your homecoming queen<br>Pin-up poster dream  
>And not one of the boys!"<p>

Kurt danced over to where Blaine was sitting and flung the boa around his neck to draw him near, singing to him only.

"I wanna smell like roses  
>Not a baseball team<br>And I swear maybe one day  
>You're gonna wanna<br>Make out, make out, make out with me!"

Kurt winked and Blaine couldn't help but grin up at him, bedazzled by Kurt's sparkling blue eyes and the way his boyfriend wiggled his shoulders – he just loved when Kurt did that! – and the line about making out was ringing in his ears. Gosh, yeah, he totally wanted to make out with Kurt! And just when that thought crossed his mind, Kurt bend forward to press a kiss on Blaine's mouth. Blaine froze in absolute and utter surprise whilst the boys roared up, clapping and cheering, "Yeah, go and get some!"

The kiss lasted no more than two seconds, but it left a prickling feeling on Blaine's lips and in his stomach, making Blaine suck his lips in and long for more, but then the boa was already drawn off his shoulders and his boyfriend danced off again to join his girls for the last few lines.

"Don't wanna be, don't wanna be, don't wanna be...  
>Cause I don't wanna be<br>One of the boys  
>One of your guys<br>Just give me a chance to prove to you tonight  
>That I just wanna be<br>One of the girls!"

At the end of the song the girls bowed, Kurt the deepest and the boys applauded.

"Wow, Kurt, girls, that was an interesting performance," Mr Schue said, clapping along with the boys. "But is there a reason for this?"

"This is to make you see it's your loss that Kurt is with us," Mercedes smiled fondly up at her best friend. "And there's no chance you'll get him back, because we won't let him go."

"Also this was a little preview for what's coming in two weeks!" Tina explained, sticking her tongue out. "We're so gonna walk all over you guys!"

With this the girls strolled out of the room to walk back to the auditorium where they were supposed to rehearse for the girls vs boys competition. "Wow, the girls are really eager to win this," Mr Schue was beaming. "You guys need to work hard to compete with them."

"How did the girls manage to put that number up in only one day?" Rory asked, clearly impressed. "If they're this good at an impromptu performance, I'm a little scared of what awaits us in two weeks."

Blaine wondered if he was the only one who'd noticed that the girls hadn't come up with a whole new choreography in just one day. Apparently the girls had mixed some steps of previous performances and the rest of the time they had improvised. Well done so, but still nothing new.

Mike turned and draped his arm over the back of his chair to talk to Blaine with a proud grin. "Hey, did you recognize the _Single Ladies_ dance? I just _love_ when Tina does that one!"

Blaine grinned back at him. Yeah, he loved it, too, when Kurt danced and moved his hips like that, but still… it was all so confusing.

* * *

><p>Five minutes before the school bell rang to announce the end of glee club (another hour of senseless talking and not coming up with anything for the competition), Blaine snuck a peek at his phone and found a message from Kurt.<p>

_Meet me between classes you know where! ;) – K _

Huh, did he mean the Home Economics room? The moment the bell rang, Blaine leaped up and hurried to meet his boyfriend. He looked up and down the hallway to make sure no one was around before he quietly entered the empty classroom and closed the door behind him.

Again it was so dark that he hardly could make out anything. He proceeded a few steps into the blackness until he bumped against a table and cursed under his breath, reminded again why he hated the darkness so much. It had been okay when Kurt had been with him, but it was creepy when he was alone.

Wait. Was he alone?

He cleared his voice and asked tentatively, "Anybody here? Mike? Tina?"

Suddenly something light and feathery flew over his head and caught him in a loop at his neck. He let out a little squeak, very much to his embarrassment, before he realized Kurt was standing behind him.

"If you're looking for Tike I'm not sure they're available for a threesome," Kurt whispered and Blaine felt his boyfriend come closer until he stood right behind him, his breath brushing down Blaine's neck, making him shiver.

"But I'm available for anything you like right now."

Blaine turned around and grabbed his boyfriend at the waist. "Well, if you're the only one around, I'll take what I can get," he joked and Kurt playfully slapped his shoulder, still holding on tight with one hand at the boa around Blaine's neck.

"So how did you like our little song?"

Blaine swallowed. "I didn't," he answered truthfully and he could feel Kurt tense up. "Don't get me wrong, the performance was fun, but I didn't like the song choice. For you. Because I want you to be one of the boys."

Kurt sighed deeply and his breath blew warm against Blaine's cheek. "What's the sense in trying to fit in when I so obviously don't?"

"I'm not saying you should change."

"So you're saying the world should change, then?" Kurt leaned his cheek against the side of Blaine's head, kissing his earlobe as he murmured, "But it won't, Blaine. At least not as fast as we want it to."

"I was just wondering," Blaine began and stopped, not sure how to phrase this without making it sound offensive.

"Yes?" Kurt asked softly, his hands gliding down Blaine's back.

"Well, I was wondering if you're doing all this, because this is how you want to express yourself or just because they expect you to? Don't get me wrong, but I had the feeling that you were acting differently when we were still at Dalton."

"At Dalton I tried to blend in like you advised me to, because showing off my individuality by singing _Don't cry for me Argentina_ didn't earn me much Warbler affection. Besides, it's hardly possible to express yourself when you have to wear a uniform," Kurt complained and sounded more and more exasperated. "And just so you know, the stupid Katy Perry song was the girls idea, not mine."

The boa was released off his neck and Kurt turned to leave, but Blaine grabbed his boyfriend's arm in the dark and stopped him. "Stay."

Kurt didn't leave, but he didn't turn around either. So Blaine embraced him from behind and leaned his forhead between his shoulderblades. "I love you, Kurt," he murmured into the fabric of Kurt's vest and inhaled deeply, before adding, "and I know you love Katy Perry."

Blaine felt a chuckle vibrate through Kurt's body.

"Only when you sing her songs," Kurt replied matter-of-factly and this made Blaine smile. Kurt turned around in the embrace and a second later Blaine felt his boyfriend's lips cover his own.

"You kissed me," Blaine breathed and let his lips brush along Kurt's jaw, "in front of all of them. That was a first and to tell the truth, a real turn-on for me."

"Really?" Kurt asked in an unusual deep voice that made Blaine's knees go weak. He let his hands wander along Kurt's sides, deeper, until he reached his boyfriend's crotch and pressed against it.

"Really," he replied, his voice no more than a growl in his throat. "Kurt… when will you come over to my house again? It's been too long since we last..."

"Depends on when your parents are out," Kurt answered slightly breathless, moving against Blaine's hand.

"Then you can come over whenever you want to," Blaine half-joked. His hands were all over Kurt now, pressed against the hard-on in his skinny jeans, the other one stroking his back. They drowned into a passionate kiss for a while and Blaine was getting hard, too, loosing all brain activity.

"Friday night..." Kurt promised between kisses.

"That's too long." Blaine nuzzled into the crook of Kurt's neck. "I really, really wanna be close to you again _soon_."

"I'm right here," Kurt murmured, his arms tightening around Blaine's back. "And right now we couldn't be any closer."

"You know what I mean," Blaine whispered, breathing against the skin of Kurt's collar bone.

Kurt captured Blaine's face with both hands and kissed him, deeply, passionately…

Until the bell rang to announce the next period.

* * *

><p>After one sickening hour of rattling down Spanish vocabulary Blaine was relieved when the bell rang for lunch time. Sitting next to Kurt in the cafeteria, listening to Rachel and Mercedes complain about whatever was bugging them at the moment, watching Finn munching his food in silence and rolling his eyes whenever Rachel addressed him (what a love!) and getting to eat Kurt's dessert which his boyfriend would always put on Blaine's plate without a word. Yay, lunch time!<p>

He hurried down the hallway to drop off some textbooks in his locker before heading to the cafeteria when he noticed Rick the Stick whooping and laughing with his gang of hockey teammates, acting like maniacs and apparently having a blast.

Rick Nelson made a _boo_ sound in his direction as they walked past him and Blaine frowned and silently shook his head. Yeah, you're the king! The king of idiots.

He turned the next corner and what he saw made his heart skip a beat.

Down the aisle Kurt was being led like a blind man by Mercedes and Tina. His face, hair and shirt was dripping with blueberry slushy. With a stern face Tina was carrying Kurt's bag and the purple boa while Mercedes pushed the door of the girls restroom open, her hand in Kurt's back to show him the way.

Blaine hurried towards them as fast as he could and caught them on the threshold of the restroom door. "Kurt! What happened?"

Mercedes put a hand on Blaine's chest and stopped him. "Let me in," Blaine tried to get past her, but Mercedes stubbornly held him in place and raised her brows at him. "Ts, Blaine, this is the girls restroom."

"Oh, don't give me that crap, Mercedes! Let me in, I wanna see Kurt!"

"Watch your mouth, white boy!" Mercedes stuck a finger into Blaine's face. "You get to see him once we've cleaned him up."

Blaine huffed at her, contemplating whether it was worth arguing with her or not. "What happened?" He repeated his question.

"What does it look like?" Mercedes sighed deeply and her face mellowed. "Kurt's been slushed. Hasn't happened for a while so it took us all by surprise."

"Who did it?" Blaine was already clenching his fists.

"Rick the fucking dick." Mercedes answered with a roll of her eyes.

"Hold this for me?" Blaine shoved his bag into Mercedes' arms and ran off to go after Rick and his gang.

He was furious.

But at the same time he felt guilty.

Ever since he was at McKinley he hadn't seen ANYONE getting slushed.

It was his fault that this had happened to Kurt. He had brought the stupid boa into school which had provoked Rick to shout an insult at Kurt which had provoked Kurt to speak back to him which had led to Rick throwing a slushy at Kurt to keep his face in front of his teammates.

Oh God, Kurt had looked so devastated.

Why did Kurt always have to take all the crap? Why couldn't the slushy have hit Blaine instead?

And why hadn't he been at Kurt's side when it had happened?

Why was there even a slushie maker in the cafeteria? What was wrong with this goddamn school? It seemed like it _wanted_ to supply the bullies with weapons.

But Blaine wouldn't let Rick Nelson get away with this.

He pushed his way through the crowd and caught up with the hockey guys in front of the cafeteria, not slowing down as he walked straight up to them.

"Hey, Rick!" Blaine shouted out and the leader of the hockey team turned to face him. Without another word Blaine put all his fury and frustration into his fist and struck right into Rick's face.

* * *

><p><strong>Songs in this chapter:<strong>

Katy Perry - One of the boys

**Next chapter: **

Blaine has to face consequences. :P

* * *

><p><strong>OK, I'm not sure how to feel about this chapter myself. It just so happened. I hope the next chapter will be better. <strong>

**Btw I'm sorry if I turn the boys – especially Puckerman and Artie – into douchebags, but someone's gotta play the part. ;)**

**Hey, cookies for you, _TheJadePhoenix_ and _WaitingForThisMomentToBeFree_ for recognizing the Chris Colfer quote 'bitch-slapped by an iceberg' in the last chapter! You'll get the cookies at the next store around your corner. ;)**

**Reviews?**


	7. Suspension

**Suspension**

Blaine was staring straight ahead, his eyes fixated on the landscape picture behind Principal Figgins' head. His hands were clenching the arms of his chair as he was trying to stay calm, not showing the anger boiling inside of him.

Principal Figgins was giving a lecture about the no-go of solving disagreements by the use of violence and preaching the importance of keeping one's temper in a provocative situation.

Blaine knew he deserved this, but so did Rick Nelson who was sitting next to him. The hockey player was holding an icepack on his black eye,moaning pitifully every now and then as if he was experiencing such an incredible pain.

Hell, this Rick idiot didn't know what real pain was! One black eye was nothing compared to… No, Blaine didn't allow himself to wander back to the past. He had to focus on here and now.

"In the face of such a severe act of violence, Mr Anderson, I have no other option but to speak out suspension for one week."

Blaine bowed his head in defeat.

However, Mr Schue protested immediately on his behalf, so did Kurt, Mercedes and Tina, who were all standing in the back of the office to support him.

"Quiet!" Figgins demanded.

Mr Schue motioned the kids to keep their mouths shut and stepped forward. "One week? With all due respect, Principal Figgins, I think that's a bit harsh. Blaine didn't mean to pick a fight, it rather happened in the heat of the moment."

"I like to think that all the way from the south wing up to the cafeteria Mr Anderson had a lot of time to think about his further actions, William," Figgins countered. "Also a trained boxer should know better than to use his skills outside the gym."

"I'm not a professional boxer!" Blaine looked up sharp. "I just occasionally hit the bag..."

"He was in a fight club in that gay prep school!" Rick piped up, pointing at him accusingly.

Blaine shook his head, not in denial but in disbelief. First, how the hell did Rick know about that? Second, why did he make it sound like Blaine was the head of a street gang and out for blood? And last but not least, wtf? _Gay prep school_? Why did Rick get away with voicing yet another insult at him in front of the principal?

"What about Rick?" Mercedes spoke up, her arms crossed and her chin raised. "He slushed Kurt Hummel. You're not letting him off scott-free, are you?" She gestured towards Kurt. The blue colored stain on Kurt's white shirt spoke for itself.

"He ran into me!" Rick raised his voice. "It's not my fault he can't look where he's going! He owes me a new slushy!"

"Hell to the no! He did NOT run into you!" Mercedes and Tina both spoke up as witnesses until Figgins smacked his hand down on his desk loudly to get some order.

"One week of suspension for you, too, Mr Nelson," Principal Figgins declared. Then he pushed some papers towards the two boys. "Give these letters to your parents. I want these signed on my desk by eight o'clock tomorrow morning and then I don't want to see both of you on school grounds for one week."

Reluctantly Blaine grabbed the paper and sighed inwardly. His parents wouldn't like this. At all.

When they left the office, Rick Nelson was met by his teammates who gawked at the shiner. "One week of sleeping in late and playing video games all day long!" Rick high fived with his mates.

Blaine was surrounded by the New Direction kids who had been waiting for them, keen on news about the latest sensation.

"I wish I'd been there to see your strike, man!" Finn held out his fist to knuckle-knock with Blaine.

"I've seen it!" Artie grinned broadly. "It was awesome! Rick was crying like a baby!"

Santana drew a hand down Blaine's arm and purred, "Blaine was on fire! I've never seen an angry little hobbit like that! And boy this hobbit can throw a punch!"

"Yeah, well, it wasn't my smartest move," Blaine said with a shrug. "I've been suspended for a week."

"You should be glad you weren't expelled!" Rachel the drama queen pointed out. "The penalization for disregarding the no violence policy at McKinley has been tightened ever since Kurt's fierce campaign against bullying at school!"

Blaine winced at these words, not daring to look at his boyfriend.

He knew how important the no violence policy was for Kurt. After all it had been Kurt's proud achievement that the school board and Principal Figgins finally took their obligation to create a safe school environment more seriously, and here he came, disrespecting all of Kurt's efforts by fighting eye for an eye. It didn't even matter that he did it for Kurt.

And Figgins was right. Blaine hadn't acted in the heat of the moment. He had been way too late to safe Kurt from that slushy, so he had gone after Rick with the only intention of getting back at him.

God, he didn't want to see the disappointment in Kurt's face.

"Blaine Anderson! I need an exclusive interview!" Jacob tried to push through the crowd, but he was met by Santana's elbow. "Get lost, Jacob! No one wants to talk to you!" With a pout Jacob tried his luck with the hockey player who granted him full copyright on the story.

The other kids hurried to their classes, but Kurt walked Blaine to his car, not saying a word all the way outside, just marching straight on, his arms folded tightly across his chest, his lips pressed to a thin line. And Blaine just knew he had fucked up so badly and Kurt was angry with him for being so incredible stupid.

After all everything was Blaine's fault! If he hadn't brought that damn feather boa into school Kurt wouldn't have been called names and Kurt's shirt wouldn't have been ruined and Kurt wouldn't have to bear the shame of having a boyfriend who disrespected all that he stood up for.

_I lost my temper. I screwed up. I'm a complete failure. And Kurt is so mad at me that he won't even talk to me! Why can't he at least yell at me? Come on, tell me how fucking stupid I am! Anything but this silence! Please!_

When they arrived at his car Blaine finally dared to turn and look at his boyfriend, afraid of the disappointment and anger he expected to see in Kurt's eyes. Instead he was shocked to see the misery in those blue eyes that he loved so much.

Blaine's heart clenched when he realized that Kurt wouldn't talk because he was struggling so hard to keep his composure.

"Oh, Kurt…"

Kurt held up one hand to silence him and fulfilled the movement by stroking over his bangs. He still wouldn't meet Blaine's eyes, but when he spoke his voice was thick with emotion.

"Blaine, I'm so, _so_ sorry for what happened."

Blaine's jaw dropped and he couldn't believe his ears.

"I was so stupid," Kurt continued and shook his head in dismay. "I shouldn't have been prancing around all day and... I shouldn't have provoked Rick in the first place... and I... oh, Blaine, I know I screwed up, just please, please don't be mad at me!"

"Kurt, baby, no! I'm not mad at you! You did nothing wrong!" Blaine was appalled that Kurt could even think that when it was so clearly Blaine who'd fucked up.

"And Rachel is right!" Kurt went on, gesturing wildly. "If it wasn't for my recent campaign Figgins wouldn't even be so determined to go after a simple case of student fighting and he wouldn't have disciplined you with suspension."

"Don't say that! Your campaign was right and important! It's my own fault that I'm the first to get hit by the tightened rules! Fighting is no way to solve problems! I know that! I just... I guess seeing you like that... I just lost my shit."

Blaine shrugged in an apologetic way and watched his boyfriend who was still struggling with tears. He wanted to take Kurt in his arms so badly, but he stopped himself. If he knew one thing about Kurt then that he wasn't a touchy person and disliked being touched when he was upset, especially in a public place. If Blaine tried to embrace him now, Kurt would back off. So Blaine settled for slowly reaching out and giving Kurt's arm a gentle stroke. Unlike his boyfriend Blaine _needed_ some kind of physical contact to be assured that everything was still okay.

Kurt cleared his throat in an attempt to restore himself and to keep the tears in his eyes from falling. "Are we gonna talk on the phone tonight?"

"Of course we do!" Blaine was baffled by the question. They talked every day! Why would Kurt think he wouldn't want to talk to him today?

"Okay, then. I'll call you." With this Kurt turned abruptly and walked away briskly towards the school building, his hands flying up to wipe at his eyes.

Seeing him leave made Blaine feel so incredible helpless. "Kurt! Wait! It's not your fault, but mine!" Blaine called after him but his shouts only made Kurt run away faster.

"Shit!" Blaine slumped into the driver seat and rested his forhead against the steering wheel. "Fuck!"

Instantly he got his phone out and quickly typed a text to his boyfriend, saying how it wasn't his fault and how Blaine was the one who was sorry for screwing up and that he loved him.

Then he closed his eyes, clutching his phone and waiting for a response.

Only a few seconds later his phone buzzed with a call.

Gotta be Kurt!

Without even looking at the display Blaine answered the call in a desperate voice, "Listen, baby, I don't want you to think this was your fault, because it was all mine for bringing that stupid feather boa into school and I'm so sorry! Please don't feel bad about it, okay? Kurt? Kurt, are you there?"

Blaine clutched his phone to his ear but only realized his mistake when he heard a male voice chuckling at the other end of the line.

"Oh my, Blaine Anderson, this sounds like trouble in paradise. What happened?"

Blaine facepalmed and wanted to kick his own butt for not checking the goddamn display first before talking. "None of your business, Sebastian."

"Do you have any kinks about feather boas that I should know about?"

"You don't need to know _anything_ about me."

"But I want to. Because the more I find out about you, the more you turn me on."

"Oh, really?" Blaine felt the anger rise up again. "Then why don't you get a picture of me and whack off to that, because that's the closest you'll ever get to me! I'm telling you for the last time, stop bothering me! I'm done playing nice with you!"

"Uh... I'm glad to hear it," Sebastian drawled. "I'm not one for playing nice either. Actually, I like playing dirty and I'm very good at it, too. So how about we change the rules then?"

"What do you mean?" Blaine was taken aback by Sebastian's unfaltering confidence.

"I love me a good challenge, Blaine Anderson. Right now you are the challenge and I won't stop chasing you until I got you. But I'm tired of wooing you all nicely. I guess it's about time I got more straight-forward. "

"_More_ straight-forward?" Blaine repeated with a hysterical laugh. "You couldn't possibly be more straight-forward than you already are! All your annoying e-mails and texts and the way you don't seem to understand the word NO! Geez, you're a pain in the ass!"

Sebastian was laughing quietly. "Yeah, preferably in yours soon."

"Duh!" Blaine ended the call without another word. He didn't have the time and the energy to deal with Sebastian Smythe right now. He had to fix his relationship. And he had to tell his parents about one week of suspension.

Blaine leaned back against his seat and let out a heavy sigh.

_FML!_

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><p><strong>Hi everyone! Sorry for the late and short update. Because of personal problems I'm not able to write as much as I'd love to, so please be patient with me. I hope to be back to my usual pace asap! In the meantime your love in the shape of reviews is highly appreciated. :)<strong>

**Thank you all for the huge response to the last chapter! I promise there will be more Mike/Blaine friendship and more Blaine/ND boys interaction! And more Klaine love! :D**

**And more Sebastian being an ass! :P**

**Oh, and about Mercedes and her double standard concerning the girl's restroom! I like to think that she didn't let Blaine inside because she didn't want him to see Kurt like this - because Kurt wouldn't have wanted Blaine to see him like this! In different circumstances she wouldn't mind Blaine entering the girl's restroom at all, she was just being protective of Kurt. ;)**

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><p><strong>Next chapter: <strong>

**Blaine has another talk with Kurt about girls/boys/in-between ;)**

**Also he has to tell his parents about the suspension. **


	8. Man in the Mirror

**Man in the Mirror**

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please give a very warm welcome to Mr Blaine Anderson! Cheers, everyone!"

Blaine threw his car keys on the sideboard and kicked his shoes off.

"B.A.'s back in the house! Yaaay! Paws up who wants tuna fish and crackers?"

After shrugging his jacket off, he grabbed his grocery bags, but stopped in his tracks and listened intently into the stillness of the empty house.

"Tiffy?"

Why wouldn't his cat come and greet him? "Hey, where's my girl? Tiff, Tiff, Tiff?"

When the white ball of purring fluffy fur didn't instantly come running downstairs at his call, Blaine got worried and started to look around for the cat. It happened every now and then that his parents closed their bedroom door without checking if the cat was still in there. That's why Blaine had made it a house rule that any door stayed open all of the time.

He ran upstairs and checked the rooms, but Tiffany was nowhere to be found.

"Talk to me, where are you, sweetie?"

Growing desperate he checked the windows – Tiffy was an in-door cat, but would sneak out at every opportunity. What if she got lost in the neighborhood or took a careless walk on the street…

"TIFFY!"

If that cat got hurt… No, he didn't even want to think about it.

Finally he heard a loud muffled cry coming from the kitchen and he hurried downstairs again. "Tiffy?"

Oh God, the pantry!

He opened the door to the pantry and the cat jumped out, complaining loudly about having to spend the day in a dusty pantry without any mice to kill time with and gnawing on plastic wraps to at least get some cheese out of this situation.

The poor thing had been trapped in there all day long. Blaine could imagine his parents closing the pantry door without checking for the cat first just too well. They both had their heads everywhere but never really at home. Home was just a place to sleep for them.

"Bad day?" Blaine swooped the cat up and held her close to his chest, but in her offended state she tried to get away from him.

"If it makes you feel better, my day sucked, too. Care to hear about it?"

He stroked Tiffany until she was calm enough that he could pour his heart out. He put her on the island and opened a can of tuna fish for her which was an acceptable offer to make up for the lost day.

"I screwed up today," he told her with a heavy sigh. "Big time. Wait until the parents hear about it. You better find yourself a good hiding place. Yeah, not the pantry again."

While the cat ate, Blaine munched some crackers and told her everything.

"But the worst part is that my boyfriend thinks it's his fault," he finished his report as he headed upstairs to his room with the cat close on his heels. "And then, the infamous cherry on top, I accidentally told that idiot Sebastian all about it and now he thinks I have boyfriend trouble! Duh!"

Tiffany slumped down on the carpet in front of his bed, lifted one leg up in the air and started licking her female parts.

"You're not interested in the slightest about my love life, are you?"

With a sigh Blaine went into his bathroom and took a hot shower to get the tension out of his bones and to calm down, as he was still fidgeting and restless.

His parents had allowed him to transfer under the condition that they wouldn't have to deal with stuff like, well, exactly like this. They knew what it was like at public high schools, what it had been like for him especially when he was fourteen, the times when he couldn't stand it any longer, the shoving, the teasing, the name-calling.

"If it's going to be a repeat of those times, Blainers," his mother had said with a raised finger, "you'll head back to Dalton in a rush."

He got out of the shower, wrapped a towel around his waist and stood in front of his bathroom mirror which was fogged with hot steam. He cleared a spot with his hand to take a closer look at himself.

His black hair curled up in wet locks into his forehead and his neck, and his thick brows made him look darker, meaner than he was. He didn't like his hair like this, messy and curly, it made him look wild, like a stupid neanderthal who couldn't handle his hair let alone his life.

Blaine combed his damp hair back until he felt normal again – under control again. When he was content with his hair-do he held the comb like a microphone and sang to himself, watching his face in the mirror with a sad and serious expression.

"I'm gonna make a change for once in my life

It's gonna feel real good

Gonna make a difference

Gonna make it right!"

The truth was it had felt good to hit Rick Nelson. Real good.

For that quick moment he'd felt like he finally could make it right for once. Like he really was the hero that the New Direction kids now painted him out to be afterwards.

Sometimes he dreamed about punishing the world for its cruelty, ignorance andmeanness. With Rick it had just gotten a face to aim at. It had felt like hitting Rick would make up for everything that had gone wrong in the past.

Then again he didn't want to sink down on the level of those bullies. He didn't want to be that kind of person, hate-driven and without compassion.

All he wanted to be was the one who brought happiness into Kurt's life, not misery.

He wanted to be the guy who sings _It's Not Unusual_ in the school yard and _Last Friday Night_ in glee club and not the angry little hobbit who was out for revenge.

He wanted to stay calm, keep his cool, show off some dapperness and composure. Don't let them get to you, don't let them provoke you. More than anything he loved the superior air around Kurt, the way he walked with his head held high as if saying, I don't care what you're thinking about me, I'm better than you anyway.

_They can't touch us – or what we have. _

How arrogant of him to want to be Kurt's savior when it so clearly was Kurt who saved him, over and over again with words like these.

"I'm starting with the man in the mirror

I'm asking him to change his ways"

Blaine brushed a stray curl that was falling into his eyes back in place and smoothed a finger over his brows.

Why did he have to be the one to make a change?

What did he do wrong?

Sometimes – like now when he was thinking of Rick Nelson or back in the days when he'd just met Kurt and heard of what Karofsky did to him – Blaine wished, prayed, _longed_ for something really _really_ bad to happen to those people.

He knew he wasn't one to judge these things, but most of the time God wasn't doing a good job with deciding who deserved to be punished and who not. Why him? Why Kurt? What did they do to the world to deserve to suffer this much?

To be sneered and laughed at, to be bullied and threatened with violence – to be beaten up – to be harassed – to be told "Sorry, but if you're gay, your life's just going to be miserable".

Like being gay was something he chose to be. How did Kurt put it into words once? Like he would choose to be mocked every single day of his life!

What was the sense of it all? Was it some kind of military drill? Like a boot camp? With the goal to make them stronger? This was his mother's all time favorite line: What doesn't kill you makes you stronger!

But what if it did kill him?

Deep inside. Every single time a little piece of him died.

Yes, Kurt had gotten stronger out of his encounter with Karofsky. And Blaine had gotten stronger ever since the Sadie Hawkins Dance. But that didn't mean it wasn't still haunting him. Or that he didn't still wake up sometimes in the middle of the night, drenched in sweat with his heart racing.

Why did it have to happen at all? Why was life so cruel? And why did cruel things not happen to guys like Rick the Stick or Karofsky? Why couldn't life be fair and simple for a change?

Blaine bit his lips and braced himself against the sink. He didn't like the person he saw in the mirror, the one who was angry and frustrated and full of hate.

"If you wanna make the world a better place

Take a look at yourself and make a change"

Take a look at yourself.

Blame yourself. Don't blame the others.

Ask yourself what's wrong with you that makes people want to spit at you.

_What's wrong with me, world? Apart from being gay? _

Blaine was lucky enough that he didn't actually look like he was gay. He could pass as straight. Kurt couldn't. What if one day Kurt was at the wrong place at the wrong time and the wrong person took one look at him…

He needed to protect Kurt. What had happened with Karofsky had been bad enough. But Blaine didn't want his boyfriend to ever experience anything like what had happened to him when he had been fourteen. That's why he had been so anxious about Kurt wearing that kilt to junior prom. If some jock had decided to beat him up...

Blaine clenched his fists and tried to calm down and stop this senseless circle of thoughts. It would get him nowhere to paint horrible pictures in his head.

He rubbed himself dry with a towel and put on his favorite grey sweatpants and a white T-shirt. With a heavy sigh he slumped down on his bed and watched Tiffany go on her usual patrol through his room.

"If you only knew how shitty the world outside is, you wouldn't want to sneak out of this house all of the time, Tiffy. You would want to stay within the safety of these walls…"

_But it wouldn't make you happy. _

Blaine had been safe at Dalton. But never truly happy. He'd left his shelter to be with Kurt. Just knowing that Kurt was walking around outside, in the _real_ world… He had wanted to be the one to protect him, even if Kurt himself thought he didn't need protection.

"As I turn up the collar of my favorite winter coat

This wind is blowing my mind

I see the kids on the street without enough to eat

Who am I to be blind pretending not to see their need?"

People tend to look the other way. Better not to get involved. Save your own skin.

When the guys had beaten up Blaine and his friend in the parking lot after the Sadie Hawkins Dance no one had come to help them. People had gotten into their cars to drive home, turning their cars around them, looking away. No one had cared about two fourteen year old boys getting beaten up. But he was sure they all had eagerly read the newspaper the next day and gossiped about them behind their backs.

Blaine startled at the sound of his phone ringing and realized he had lost himself into dark thoughts again. Bad habit. He dived for his school bag next to his bed and got his phone out. This time he remembered to check the caller ID before he answered and was surprised to see that it was Kurt. His boyfriend called early which was a good sign. Kurt wasn't avoiding him.

"Kurt!" He put all his sorrow and apologies and hope in his voice.

"Blaine, my brave warrior, always out to defend my honor," Kurt was humming this adorable little laugh of his. "How are you, love?"

"I'm okay," Blaine sighed and rolled on his back, staring up at the ceiling. "Just wanna kick myself for going after that idiot…"

"Believe me, I would have loved to punch Rick myself, but I was busy getting iced blueberry syrup out of my eyes."

"I should have been with you when it happened, Kurt," Blaine said regretfully, "maybe I could've somehow stopped it from happening …"

"Blaine, I appreciate your need to stand up for me, I really do, but just to get things straight, I'm not your damsel in distress, agreed?"

"Agreed." Blaine was happy and relieved to hear that Kurt sounded much more relaxed and cheerful than when they had parted. "Although I may add that I don't like it when you get things straight, baby, I'd rather you kept things gay."

"Oh, what would I do without you?" Kurt let out a little loving laugh and Blaine closed his eyes and pictured the way Kurt's lips curled into that adorable smile of his. But then his boyfriend turned serious once more.

"I'm just glad you didn't get hurt, Blaine. If Rick and his gang would've gone after you, you wouldn't have stood a chance. So please promise me that you won't do something like that on your own again! Next time you're going to tell someone to _fuck off_ at least get yourself some back-up from the boys."

"Woah, language, baby," Blaine teased and grinned at his boyfriend's use of cursing words. This was rare. "Alright, I promise I will round up the troops next time I'm out for someone's blood."

"Thanks," Kurt replied, sounding truly relieved. "And as much as I can't approve of you letting your emotions get the best of you, I have to admit that I would've loved to see you throw that punch. You know, everybody tells me that seeing you in fighting mode was _exremely hot_."

"Everybody?" Blaine sat up with a grin and reached out to adjust the frame on his nightstand with the black-white picture of his boyfriend.

"Well, the girls who happened to be eye witnesses, Santana, Brittany and Quinn. The boys use different terms like awesome, wicked, cool. I guess that pretty much sums up Finn's vocabulary."

Blaine chuckled at this.

"So what did your parents say about the suspension?"

Blaine's mood dropped again. "They don't know yet. They're still at work," Blaine answered with a nervous sigh, and then put his joking voice back on, "But Tiffy was pleased. She's looking forward to hanging out with me for the next few days." As if on cue the cat jumped up on the mattress and demanded to be caressed, poking her head into Blaine's arm.

"I don't like it that you're always alone," Kurt stated in a serious tone along with a heartfelt sigh.

"I'm a big boy," Blaine said with a forced laugh. "I can get myself some dinner and tuck myself into bed alright."

"No, Blaine, I really think it's awful that your parents leave you all by yourself ALL OF THE TIME! I get that they have successful careers and stuff, but don't they ever want to spend some quality time with you? That's no family life at all. They should be happy to finally have you back home during the week. Sorry, but… yeah." Kurt ended his rant with a huff.

"I told you I don't mind being alone." Even when the words left his mouth Blaine was astonished by how easy it had become to lie about his family situation. He may have gotten used to being alone, but he still hated it. And now he was lying to Kurt about it. But was it really a lie if he just didn't want his boyfriend to worry over him? Kurt was already worrying way too much.

"Besides, it's not their fault," Blaine defended his parents. "Over the past two years they got used to the fact that I was boarding at Dalton and they didn't need to be home early for me. I can't expect them to turn over their accustomed life style just because I want to go to a public school and live at home again."

"I know, it's just that I feel kind of responsible," Kurt admitted, "because I made you come to McKinley and all."

"You didn't make me do anything! It was my own decision to transfer!" Blaine spoke up. "And I'm not really alone, 'cause Tiffany's always keeping me company."

Kurt sighed in dismay and Blaine could practically _hear_ him rolling his eyes. "Still I don't like it. At least in Dalton you had all your friends around. Human beings, more or less..."

"What's the difference if I sit in Dalton in my single room and talk to you on the phone all night or if I do that at home? Kurt, there's really no need for you to worry about me. I actually like me some alone time. Nobody around to tell me to turn the music down or to stop dancing around the house. And I don't need to worry about my parents coming in when I watch porn..."

Blaine listened to the shocked silence stretching out on the other end of the line and bit his lips to keep himself from laughing. "THAT WAS A JOKE!" Blaine cracked up when he heard the sigh of relief coming from his boyfriend.

"Woah, Kurt, why do you so easily believe that I was into porn?"

"Sorry," Kurt replied with a little chuckle. "But the image of you sitting alone in your room and watching porn... ah, well, never mind..."

"What?" Blaine urged to know.

"Mmm, it kind of turns me on a little bit," Kurt confessed with a low voice.

Blaine grinned wickedly. "Baby, if you want me to I will happily watch some porn right now just so you can imagine me in my room watching it and touching myself and..."

"Gosh, no! Shut up!" Kurt was laughing. "No porn for you! It just gives you ideas and I don't want to have to compete with some _big_ and _hot_ porn stars!"

Blaine was laughing until tears were rolling down his cheeks. He felt all the tension wear off and finally relax. He hadn't been aware how scared he had been of talking to Kurt again after their parting at school. He didn't even care anymore that his parents would scold him for getting suspended. All he cared about was that Kurt wasn't angry with him. As long as Kurt still loved him, everything was going to be okay.

"Have I mentioned lately how much I cherish the ground you walk on? And did I tell you that I'm extremely sorry for what happened today?"

"I know you are. And I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't walk around toying with girl's accessories and expect guys like Rick Nelson to simply ignore me."

Girl's accessories… Why was Kurt so fond of girl's accessories anyway?

"I was meaning to ask you..." Blaine started, but stopped again.

"Go on. You know you can ask me anything. I've got nothing to hide."

"It's nothing, actually…" Blaine was squirming and stretched out on his belly, feet dangling in the air, "it's just… when I spoke with Quinn today she said something that I thought was odd, you know? And it just made me wonder…"

"What did she say?" Kurt sounded truly curious, slightly amused even and luckily not annoyed that he had to drag every word out of Blaine's mouth. So Blaine drew a breath and went on.

"She said you were a girl at heart."

"Oh dear, the girls," Kurt chuckled. "They always love to paint their own picture. A girl at heart, oh Quinn..."

"Do you sometimes, you know, wish you were a girl?" Blaine approached the topic again carefully.

"Gosh, no, not at all!" Kurt replied strongly and it made Blaine sigh with relief.

"Goodness, all this talk about girls and boys is still nagging at you, isn't it? Well then, let's make an analysis and see what we get, okay?"

"Hmm, 'kay," Blaine hummed his agreement.

"I am a guy, but obviously with that voice and face of mine I'm some kind of in-between thing whether I want to be or not. Even my Dad says I'm that kind of gay that can't fool anyone to pass as straight. So in my case I guess this is where it gets confusing for people. Okay, so I am what Brittney likes to call a unicorn which in her annoyingly sweet but rather childish way obviously stands for _special_."

"I certainly agree with Brittany on that one. You are very special, baby, and I love that about you."

"Thanks, love. However, being special comes along with a price. The world has a lot of names for people it doesn't understand. Gay, bisexual, transvestite, transgender… Sometimes it's hard for people or even for oneself to peg one of those names on you. But I am not confused about who I am, Blaine. I'm gay. I'm a boy who loves boys. I'm not like one of those poor souls that feel trapped in the wrong body. Believe me, I'm quite fond of my male equipment."

"I'm quite fond of your male equipment, too."

They laughed, and it felt so damn good to share a laugh with Kurt that it almost made Blaine cry. He swallowed hard to get his mixed up emotions under control.

"I don't secretly wish I was a girl," Kurt continued. "You'll never catch me in a dress and pumps. Yes, I like wearing kilts every now and then and I am of the strong belief that fashion has no gender. And although I don't see myself as girly, apparently I have a lot of what people call female attributes. Like my obsession with clothes. Or my daily skin care routine. Uh… what else? Oh I love watching TV shows like _The Bachelorette_ or _Dancing with the Stars_."

"I watch those, too," Blaine reminded him.

"Yes, but you only watch them, because I watch them and you know how much I love to talk about them whether or not you watch them, too. So you settle for watching the shows and knowing what I talk about rather than just pretending to understand while really you don't have a clue what I'm talking about. Right?"

"Uhm… I'm not sure I could follow…"

"Also I love sitting with my legs crossed which is a very unmanly habit," Kurt went on with his list. "And when I'm bored in class I get my nail file out and give myself a manicure. I tend to get very bitchy and unreasonable and emotional when I'm upset about something. And I love musicals."

"But musicals are for everyone," Blaine interjected. "There surely are a lot of guys who like musicals!"

"Okay, then go and ask Finn or Puck for their favorite musical and you'll receive the most hilarious facial expressions. They might answer _Rocky Horror_ or _West Side Story_ but that would be just because those are the only musicals they have ever heard of."

"I think you have a point," Blaine said slowly, taking into consideration what little he knew about Finn and Puckerman.

"But most of all I really don't dig boyish behavior," Kurt finished his list.

"Boyish behavior?" Blaine repeated with a little laugh. "Like what?"

"You know! Well, maybe you don't because to tell you the truth I was astonished by how well mannered everyone at Dalton was. I'm referring to boyish behavoir such as farting in public..."

"Uh, no!" Blaine cut in.

"...burping in public," Kurt went on mercilessly. "Or simply making farting sounds and cracking up about it. Applauding for some guy for farting and burping and cheering him on… and of course talking obsessively about sex and _hot chicks_… or about movies featuring sex and _hot chicks_…"

"Come on, Kurt! I can't imagine Finn and the guys doing that!" Blaine jumped off his bed and walked into his connecting bathroom.

"Oh believe me, honey, you haven't seen the New Directions boys at their worst yet. But you will, sooner or later. It's inevitable."

Blaine stood in front of his mirror. He liked his face when he was on the phone with Kurt. Relaxed, his eyes sparkling with love, a broad silly smile on his lips.

"To make a long story short: I'm not a girl, but I like to hang out with girls. The end."

"If you say it like that it sounds pretty simple," Blaine mused, distracted by checking a fading hickey on his collar bone which Kurt had placed there a week ago. By tomorrow he wouldn't have to make sure his shirt was all buttoned-up anymore. But he'd rather Kurt made him a new one…

"Honey, just promise me not to worry about this stuff any longer, okay?"

"Okay," Blaine said with a sigh. "It's interesting, though, how everybody claims they know you, but they all got you wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, like, Quinn saying you were one of them because you were a girl at heart… You can tell her I want my copy of Vogue back by the way. And Artie saying you'd go over bodies to achieve your goals, not caring about anything or anyone, fierce like a Rachel Berry. Or like Finn who seems to be scarred for life because you used to crush on him and is just happy you've got your focus on me now. And since you're neither one of the boys nor one of the girls, clearly you must be some kind of alien."

"I prefer the term unicorn as before mentioned," Kurt declared, amused.

"I really admire how strong you are, Kurt, you're staying true to yourself all of the time. Even when you were bullied so hard you never changed who you are. You're the actual hero here. They should praise you, not me."

"Blaine, you're being overly dramatic," Kurt laughed at this. "I like that."

Blaine heard a sound from downstairs and tensed up. "My Mom's home," he told Kurt in a hushed voice. "I gotta go. Better I tell her about the suspension now, so she can kill me quickly."

"Good luck! Call me later, okay?"

"Yeah, well, if I'm still alive then."

Blaine ended the call and went to get Figgins' paper out of his satchel. Before he left his room, he shared a last desperate look with his cat.

"When you hear screams, call 911."

Tiffany yawned at him as if she couldn't care less.

With a sigh Blaine headed downstairs to meet his mother.

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><p><em>Normallyweirdm<em>, what would I do if I didn't have you? Thanks for your help and a BIG HUG just for you! We definitely need to get those story ideas started sooner or later! :D

_Poland_, yes, I used your line without asking for permission first. Sorry, but it's your own fault for providing me with such great lines. Thanks for your awesome reviews, honey! :*

Thank you to absolutely everyone for reading and reviewing. Your reviews are so very much appreciated and help me lifting up my spirits.

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><p><strong>Songs in this chapter: <strong>

Michael Jackson – Man in the Mirror

**Next chapter: **

Blaine talks to his Mom and Dad. And survives. On one condition.

The New Direction boys meet up with Blaine outside school to discuss ideas for the girls vs boys competition... and to talk about guy stuff. ;)


	9. I Told You So

**I Told You So**

Blaine went into the kitchen and found his mother leaning against the island, one hand over her forehead and one arm around her middle.

"Hi Mom!"

Elaine Anderson held a hand up to stop her son from talking. "Headache," she announced simply. Blaine immediately knew what to do. He went to the cupboard, fetched a glass and filled it with water, then got one of her painkillers from the drawer.

"Here, take this." Blaine approached her slowly, speaking in a low voice because he knew she couldn't stand sounds and quick movements when she was having one of her headaches.

"Thanks." She swallowed the pill and took a swig of water. Blaine watched her attentively as she ran one hand through her dark long curls and rubbed her temple with two fingers.

"Do you want to eat something, Mom?"

She shook her head no. "I had a salad at the office."

Her hazel eyes rested somewhere beneath his chin and it was just when he noticed the slight frown and the dislike in her eyes that he realized that she must be staring at the fading hickey on his collar bone. Apparently she was repulsed by the realization of _what_ it was and _who_ placed it on him.

Blaine fumbled with the collar of his shirt and tried not to be too obvious about hiding the hickey away from her eyes.

"What is this mess, Blainers?" she asked softly and glanced around the kitchen. Blaine looked around too. It was the usual mess his father left behind after one of his midnight kitchen invasions. Usually Blaine cleaned up in the morning but this morning he had been too distracted by his feather boa idea and had delayed the clean**-**up. Also he secretly had been pissed at having to do _everything_ around the house.

"I'm sorry," he muttered and started putting dishes into the dishwasher and cleaning up the island with a cloth while his mother retreated into the living room. It was pointless to argue that he wasn't the one to blame for that mess. To avoid the fighting he simply cleaned up after his parents. With a tired sigh he realized that he always chose to go the easy way.

When he was finished he went into the living room where his mother had settled onto the couch, her feet resting on a pillow, one arm covering her face.

"Mom?" She stirred when he approached her.

"Mom, I need you to sign this." He gingerly slipped the sheet of paper across the coffee table.

Elaine Anderson didn't even look at it. "What is it Blaine?"

"It's a letter from the principal." Blaine bit his lips. "It says that I've been suspended for a week."

"You've been suspended? What for?"

"For... well, for punching someone."

Elaine closed her eyes again and sighed deeply. "I really can't be bothered with this right now. Do you have any idea how pressured I am at work? There's this deadline at the end of the week that's killing me and I have to check about twenty drafts by then. All I want now is a moment's rest with my feet up on the couch. Sorry, but you'll have to wait for your father for this one, okay?"

"I'd rather you signed it. Come on, Dad's not home for another couple of hours," Blaine pleaded. "And I don't want to bother him with this."

"I'm not signing it." She refused with a little shake of her head. "Blaine, if you can punch some kid, you can talk with your dad about it."

"Don't you want to know why I punched that kid?" Blaine asked through gritted teeth.

"I'm sure this boy somehow offended you? Look, it was your decision to go to that public school, so don't come running to me now. You knew that the kids at this school were likely to give you a hard time. Didn't your boyfriend even tell you that he used to be bullied there? Weren't you prepared to deal with stuff like this?"

Blaine looked down at her, defeated and lost, not sure whether it was worth fighting for. His mother was just as stubborn as he was and when she refused to do something you couldn't convince her otherwise. Still it was a slap across the face to hear your mother say 'I told you so'.

When he didn't respond she finally looked up at him and her eyes mellowed. She was quick with words but also quick with feeling sorry for them.

"Come here, babe," with another sigh she held one arm out and after a moment of hesitation he crawled on the couch next to her and leaned into her side, resting his head against her shoulder. When he inhaled her familiar scent he just wanted to cry. It had been a while since the last time his mother had hugged him or let him be close to her. She rubbed his back with one hand.

"What am I gonna do with you, Blainers?" Her voice was gentle and her breath warm against his shoulder. "I just don't know what to do. You're seventeen, am I still supposed to fix everything for you?"

"No," he croaked and said nothing more because he knew he was on the verge of tears.

She cupped his face with one hand and stroked her thumb over his cheek. "I'm sorry for what happened. Sometimes life just sucks. Right?"

Blaine inhaled deeply through his nose and nodded. She hadn't even asked what had happened so what was she sorry for?

"Give us a kiss, won't you?" She pointed to her cheek with one finger and Blaine kissed her. He knew that when his mother asked for a kiss it wasn't an invitation to stay, but rather her way of saying, 'Enough of this, now leave me alone.'

He grabbed the letter off the coffee table and headed for the door, but before he retreated he turned around once more, chewing his lips for a moment before saying, "You know, Mom, his name's Kurt."

She didn't look at him. With her arm thrown over her face again she simply nodded and replied tiredly, "I know Blainers. I know."

He climbed the stairs, smacked the letter on his desk and fell face forward on his bed.

He didn't call Kurt back again, because he didn't trust his voice. If he talked to Kurt now, he'd probably end up crying like a baby and he didn't want that. Kurt would just be worried even more than he already was. Blaine wasn't even sure why he felt so whiny all of a sudden. He was just so frustrated and yeah, everything sucked. Everything but his relationship with Kurt. If he didn't have Kurt, his life would be so dull and meaningless...

With a sigh he closed his eyes.

Now he had to wait for his father... or think of some good excuse to tell Principal Figgins why his paper wasn't signed... perhaps he could ... no, he wouldn't dare forging his father's signature. His father would kill him if he even tried doing that. And what Howard Anderson hated even more than a loser for a son was a liar.

* * *

><p>Blaine had fallen asleep, waking with a start. Disoriented, he was unsure of what had woken him to begin with. He looked at the alarm clock on his nightstand, the red digits showed 32 minutes past midnight. He scooted out of bed and waddled to his bedroom door, sticking his head out to listen into the stillness of the house.<p>

There was the tell**-**tale beeping sound of the microwave. His father must be home, fixing his midnight snack before falling into bed like a dead man. It was either now or six in the morning. Since Blaine knew how grumpy his father was in the morning, he tried his luck now. He grabbed the letter and walked quietly downstairs so as not to wake his mother.

"Hey Dad," he said as he rounded the corner and sat on a chair at the island in the kitchen where his father was standing, devouring a plate of meat balls and pickles. He had loosened his tie and his jacket hung over the back of one of the chairs.

"Hey yourself." His father answered, looking him up and down suspiciously. Meeting up in the kitchen on a school night was not common in this house.

"Bad day?" Blaine asked casually, testing the waters. It was better to know his father's mood first before he voiced his request.

"No, actually a pretty good one," his father replied with his eyes back on his meal, but he didn't elaborate. "What are you still doing up?"

"I was... uh... waiting for you actually," Blaine began and chose this moment to put the paper on the table. "I need you to sign this."

His father looked down at the letter, chewing slowly, then up to his son, raising his brows questioningly. Howard Anderson had the annoying habit of stretching the silence which always made Blaine squirm and talk on.

"It's this notification that has you acknowledge that I've been suspended... but just for one week... five days if you don't count the weekend... it's nothing actually..."

His father swallowed his bite and wiped his hands on a towel. Putting on his glasses, he took the offered paper to scrutinize it.

Blaine waited impatiently for his father to speak. He knew the letter didn't give much away. It just said that he was being suspended for the act of violence on school grounds against another student.

"What happened?"

Blaine took a deep breath. So far so good. His father sounded level, interested and calm. Actually this was what he liked about his father. He wasn't one for quick judgments. He would never jump to conclusions but always ask for the details before making assumptions. It was only when he didn't like the details that he got angry...

"Uhm... there's this guy at school... Rick Nelson. He's the captain of the hockey team and he's like the biggest homophobe there is..." Blaine started, making sure not to mention the feather boa at all. "He threw a slushee at Kurt... you know, those frozen drinks... this one was blueberry flavored so that means Kurt's clothes were ruined! And I kind of... well, I hit the guy."

Blaine shrugged like it was no big deal.

"Did he try to hit you first?" Howard Anderson asked all business-like.

"No," Blaine cleared this throat and licked his lips nervously. "I went after him and called his name and when he turned around I smacked him and he... well, he fell on his butt. And by the time he was back on his feet one of the teachers had us go to the principal."

His father nodded and scratched his chin, contemplating the situation while Blaine twisted his hands.

"Did you apologize to this boy?"

"Apologize? No way!" Blaine exploded. "He didn't apologize to Kurt either. Instead he tried to make it sound like Kurt walked into him! He's a shameless liar and a neanderthal! He called Dalton a _gay prep school_ in front of the principal! Do you think anyone cared? I have no idea how Kurt was able to endure all this ignorance for so long. He keeps telling me that the situation's already gotten so much better than it used to be and I just think, goodness, if this is what being better is then I don't want to know how it was before I transferred."

Blaine stopped his rambling when he realized that he shouldn't complain too much about McKinley or else he'd end up being sent back to Dalton again. So he quickly back-pedalled.

"But, well, we have each other so it's not too bad." He shrugged and even managed a smile. "Also I think swimming with the sharks makes you a better swimmer, right?" Blaine laughed a bit and rested a hand in his neck. He was tired and frustrated and he just wanted this damn paper signed so he could get back to bed.

"Do we have to be concerned about this kid to press charges against you?"

Blaine looked up in horror. Oh my God, he hadn't thought about that possibility.

"Uh, I don't know, but I don't think he wanted to make a big deal out of this. I guess he was rather embarrassed that I'd got him."

"And are you proud that you _got_ _him_?"

"No, sir," Blaine answered with a small voice and shook his head. "I'm not proud of my actions."

"Glad to hear it, because neither am I." Howard Anderson produced his pen out of his shirt pocket, clicked it once and bent down to sign the letter.

"Thanks." With a sigh of relief Blaine took the paper and left his seat to get back to his room but his father's voice stopped him.

"You're not thinking I will let you spend a lazy week at home, do you?"

"Uhm... what am I supposed to do?"

"You're coming to the office with me." His father ordered. "I will find some work for you."

Blaine smiled, surprised. "Cool. I just have to drop this letter off at eight but then I'll come straight to your office."

His father nodded, mouth full with the last of his meat balls.

"Goodnight, Dad."

Blaine was relieved by how smoothly this had gone and intrigued by the prospectof working at his father's office. He was definitely thrilled that his father trusted him enough to provide him with work.

He hurried upstairs and slipped between his sheets again, feeling as if a heavy stone had been lifted off his chest. Maybe this week of suspension wouldn't be too bad. At least working at his father's office would keep him occupied.

It was just when he'd almost drifted off to sleep that another thought struck him:

He would miss out on all the glee practices! Dang!

"Argh, shit, shit, shit!" He cursed into his pillow.

It would be impertinent to ask the boys to meet up afterhours, outside of school grounds to include him in rehearsal. No, he couldn't expect them to meet him after school. He would have to pick up on what he'd miss next week and hope that he wouldn't mess up the performance.

The last thing he wanted was to disappoint his fellow glee clubbers in their first guys-only gig.

* * *

><p><em>WaitingForThisMomentToBeFree,<em> I love you! Because! And also reasons! So many reasons!

:*

Everyone, REVIEWS are happy KLAINEBOWS to me! Please send me some! Pretty please!

:D

* * *

><p><strong>Coming up soon: <strong>

Klaine have another troublesome confrontation with Rick Nelson. (This guy always shows up when I _really_ don't want him to. I just can't stop him. Sorry!)

Blaine asks Burt Hummel for help. (Because! Burt Hummel!)

Blaine starts working in his father's office, but it's not quite what he expected.

Blaine meets up with the ND guys in the Lima Bean and they are joined by one Sebastian Smythe. :P

Also: More Sebastian! More Klaine! More Blaine and Mike friendship! And finally the girls vs boys competition!

As you can see I'm overflowing with ideas for this. I'm afraid this might be going to be a neverending story. Actually I'm quite good at those... ;)

* * *

><p><strong>Fic recommendation: <strong>

**A Blunt Question** by _StormsInNeverland_. You NEED to read this one about Kurt meeting Cooper Anderson. It's so beautifully written and will make you sigh and cry.

:')


	10. Humiliation

**Humiliation**

Blaine arrived too early in the McKinley parking lot again. He had his hopes up to meet Kurt before first period started.

This time when he saw the car of Artie's father turn the corner, he got out of his own. He waved hello at Artie who waved back hesitantly. Blaine walked around the car to where Artie's father was getting the wheelchair out of the trunk.

"Good morning, Mr Abrams. Can I lend you a hand?"

The short man looked up in surprise like someone who wasn't used to receiving help. "Oh, hello. Thanks for asking, young man!"

"I'm Blaine Anderson, a friend of Artie's." Blaine held his hand out and Mr Abrams shook it with a firm grip and a friendly smile.

"Very nice to meet you Blaine. I'm Artie's father. I guess I haven't seen you around?"

"I'm new at McKinley," Blaine explained. "Just transfered a few weeks ago. But Artie and I have met before. I used to be in a rival glee club."

"Ah, the glee club!" A bright smile flashed across Mr Abrams face and he looked exactly like an older version of his son. "Changed Artie's life!"

"Hey, no talk behind my back!" Artie shouted over from the front seat, sounding cheerful.

"No worries, we'll be right with you!" Blaine called back, grinning, then turned back to Mr Abrams. "So how does this work?"

Mr Abrams explained to him the folding mechanism of the wheelchair and then they walked around the car to meet Artie. His father carried him out of the car and put him down into his chair.

Artie grinned up at Blaine. "You're an early bird, Blaine, aren't you?"

"I have trouble sleeping lately." Blaine shrugged. He shouldered Artie's bag as they both said goodbye to Artie's father and started towards the school building.

"Wait, what're you doing here anyway? Aren't you supposed to have a nice sleep in and waste the day away for one week?"

"First I need to give Figgins my signed paper," Blaine replied with a sigh. "Also I was hoping to see Kurt for a minute since I won't get to see him much this week."

Blaine was heading towards the main entrance, but quickly changed directions when he noticed that Artie was wheeling towards a sidedoor. When they entered Blaine knew why, this was the only entrance without steps. He held the door open for Artie and followed him inside.

"You know what, Blaine? You just totally made my Dad's day. It's the first time any of my school mates spoke to him."

"Is that true? Your father seems to be great."

"He is. My parents both are awesome. I'm really lucky."

"I'm sorry about my suspension by the way." They arrived at Artie's locker and Blaine held the bag for him so Artie could put some textbooks in. "You know, I don't want you guys to think that I'm letting you down with the girls versus boys competish. I promise to work really hard next week to catch up with you so we will win this thing."

"Oh, right, I hadn't thought about that yet." Artie adjusted his glasses. "You'll be missing out on so many rehearsal hours this week, that's too bad. But we're quite good at doing last minute stuff and so far we haven't even decided on a song yet. I guess we'll keep you informed on whatever we're up to."

"That would be great." Blaine looked around but there still was no sign of his boyfriend. Since Kurt's locker was in another hallway Blaine said a quick goodbye to Artie and hurried through the building. He waited for a few minutes at Kurt's locker but only caught hold of Tina who was passing by. "Hi Tina, have you seen Kurt?"

"Not yet. Doesn't he have Chemistry for first period? That's in the south wing."

"Oh right." With a resigned sigh Blaine checked his watch. It already was a minute to eight. "I'd better hurry to get to Figgins. See ya!"

Blaine dropped the letter off at the principal's office – the secretary received it and told him it wasn't necessary for him to talk to Figgins personally – and slowly went down the hallway, disappointed. The bell had rung already and first period had started so Kurt would be in class now and he'd missed him and wouldn't get to see him.

"Blaine! Wait! Blaine!"

Blaine was just reaching out to push open the entrance door when he heard a beloved voice calling out for him. Smiling he turned around to see his boyfriend jogging towards him, a white fox tail bouncing at his hip and his boots clunking loudly on the floor. Kurt stopped right in front of him, panting slightly and a mix of so-happy-to-see-you and deep worry displaying on his face.

"You didn't call me back last night! Are you alright? How did the talk with your parents go?"

"Better than I'd thought," Blaine replied with a shrug, taking in the ever so gorgeous sight of his boyfriend. "As you can see my head's not ripped off. What are you doing? Shouldn't you be in class?"

"Screw class! I've been running around looking for you for the past fifteen minutes and Artie just told me that you came in with him and I can't let you go without saying hello." Kurt smiled at him and swayed a little on the spot, making Blaine imagine he was standing on cloud nine. "I tried to call you by the way."

"Oh." Blaine got his phone out. "Argh, sorry, I turned the sound off."

"It's okay." Kurt shrugged and hugged himself. "Like I said I just wanted to see you and say hello before you have to leave."

"You're late for first period," Blaine protested with a broad smile. "And I need to get to my Dad's as soon as possible."

"Why?" Kurt's eyebrows shot up in concern.

"He wants me to work at his office this week," Blaine told with a proud smile. "You know, he's a lawyer so that should be interesting. I've been to his office a couple of times before but never to work, so I'm quite excited about it."

"Oh, that's good, I think," Kurt said carefully.

"Yeah, I think so." Although Blaine was reluctant to go, he added, "I guess I'd better get going..."

His brows went up in surprise when Kurt's hand slipped into his, holding it tight. The squeeze went right through Blaine's body and into his heart which started bumping excitedly.

They were standing in the hallway just in front of the entrance. Granted, the halls were empty, but it was school grounds anyway. Any second a stray student too late for class could hurry by or a teacher might show up.

Still, they were standing here, their hands clasped and so close. With a tender smile curling up his lips Blaine squeezed back and leaned against the glassdoor. Their eyes were drowning into each other for a long moment and when Kurt bent his knee their legs touched and another shiver went up Blaine's spine.

"I miss you already," Blaine whispered into the stillness of the deserted hallway. "Not being with you sucks."

Instead of an answer, Kurt's smile widened and he leaned slowly into him until their lips touched. Blaine closed his eyes and clutched Kurt's hand tighter.

They kissed.

Blaine inhaled deeply through his nose and opened his mouth. Kurt followed suit and they intensified their kiss, tongues touching, dancing around one another. Blaine's free hand took hold of the back of Kurt's head, making sure his boyfriend stayed where he was, forgetting time and space.

"NOW THAT'S DISGUSTING!"

Blaine and Kurt parted and looked around, both a little dizzy and disorientated for a second until they saw Rick Nelson who'd just come in.

"You're late," Blaine growled at him and looked at his watch. "Figgins wanted the paper on his desk by eight. It's fifteen minutes past."

Rick just shrugged with an arrogant grin. "I'll just tell him I got held up by watching you perverts getting it on in the middle of the hallway and that I was busy not to puke all over the place."

Blaine clenched his fists but just like the day before Kurt took hold of the situation by smartly asking, "Rick, I'm sorry but you need to help me out here. What exactly is it that you find so disgusting? Is it the closeness of two male bodies, like this?"

Kurt turned to his boyfriend again and wrapped his arms around Blaine's waist, drawing him near and pressing his own body against him, their middle sections touching and his heart beating out of his chest right into his boyfriend's. Blaine gazed right into Kurt's eyes with anticipation, he was definitely liking the sassy spark in his boyfriend's blue eyes.

Kurt didn't break eye contact with Blaine when he continued with an alluring low voice, "Or is it rather the kissing part, like this?" Kurt closed the last bit of distance and started kissing Blaine again and Blaine didn't mind Kurt's tongue inside of his mouth once more at all and happily played along with Kurt's provocative show-off.

"Urgh! I'm gonna report you!"

Blaine let out a little embarrassing humming sound when Kurt drew back again. "You know what I find disgusting, Nelson? Smoking pot in the south wing restroom. Maybe I should report _that_."

Rick bit his tongue and moved his jaw for a second in consideration. Then he threw his arms up in resignation and ran off to get his letter on Figgins' desk.

Kurt bit down on his lip to stop himself from laughing out loud.

"You're wicked, you know that?" Blaine teased him.

"I'm sorry," Kurt said with an apologetic gaze. "I shouldn't have used you like that for my little demonstration."

"Whenever you need me I'm your willing volunteer." Blaine winked at him. "I'm just worried that Rick's going to get back at you for this."

"He won't because this time there was no audience around."

"Mmh, you're a smart one, Kurt Hummel," Blaine murmured in awe and his hands kind of wandered off on their own, stroking Kurt's sides and along the line of his belt. He dipped his head until his lips were just barely touching the skin of Kurt's neck, just underneath his jawline and breathing softly against it until he felt his boyfriend shiver in his arms.

The grasp of Kurt's hands on his arms tightened.

"Blaine..." Kurt's voice was no more than a weak whisper, making Blaine wish longingly they were somewhere else and able to proceed properly from here.

Then again nothing stopped him to press a kiss on Kurt's neck, moving his lips along the pulse and tasting the delicious skin while his fingers started playing with the buttons of Kurt's shirt, wanting to open them, _needing_ to touch the skin of Kurt's chest, although knowing he shouldn't...

"Blaine!" Kurt resolutely pushed him at arm's length, his eyes glaced over with the same lust Blaine was feeling and fighting to stay focused on their surroundings.

"We're standing in the hallway!"

"Hey, you started this!" Blaine held his hands up.

Kurt opened his mouth to reply something but forgot what he wanted to say when Rick Nelson rushed past them on his way out and shouted a hateful "Fags!" over his shoulder.

Blaine saw the way Kurt's face dropped and immediately he wanted to hug him again. But just when he stepped forward Kurt stepped back. "I... I need to get to class and you need to get to your Dad's," he said, trying but failing to keep the hurt out of his voice.

"Kurt, please," Blaine grabbed his boyfriend's arm and shook his head. "Just... just forget about this idiot."

Kurt's face was an unreadable mask for a few seconds before he asked, "When was the last time someone called you _that?_"

"Uhm, I don't know." Blaine shrugged, not sure what Kurt was aiming at. "It's been a while."

Kurt nodded slowly as if Blaine's words had just confirmed what he was thinking. "I'm sorry you have to hear it again." Kurt gently freed himself of Blaine's grasp and smiled at him with sorrow in the blue depths of his eyes. "Call me when you get home tonight, okay?"

With a wave of his hand he turned and jogged along the hallway to get to class. Blaine stood and gazed after him until Kurt was out of sight.

Finally Blaine pushed the door open and walked down the path to the parking lot. As he approached his car he heard a car honk and looked up. Rick Nelson drove past him, a wide wicked grin on his face similar to the one he'd flashed at him yesterday just after he'd slushed Kurt. Mischief managed. This kid apparently was up to no good.

With an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach Blaine approached his car, expecting some kind of humiliation from Rick. Like an insult sprayed over the length of his car or a key scratch or perhaps even a busted window. He trusted Rick Nelson to be capable of anything.

However, he rounded his car twice, but found nothing. Maybe he was just being paranoid.

When Blaine got into his car and backed out of the parking space, his car rumbled in a weird way. He stopped and got out again. That's when he saw it. He had a flat tire. No doubt this was Rick's work. "Shit!" Blaine slumped back into the driver's seat and rested his forehead against the steering wheel. "Fuck!"

As embarrassing as it was when dating the son of a mechanic, Blaine couldn't change a tire on his own. And the only car shop in town he knew and had the phone number saved in his phone was…

"Hummel Tire & Lube. How can I help you?"

"Hi Mr Hummel, uhm, it's Blaine."

"Blaine! Didn't I tell you to call me Burt, kid?" Kurt's father sounded grumpy but in a friendly way.

"Yeah, you did, sorry." Blaine smiled to himself and closed his eyes for a second before adding, "Burt, I… uh… I kind of have a problem with my car? But I need you to promise me first that you won't tell Kurt about this."

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry, this was short. But I hope you like it anyway. <strong>

**Hands up who doesn't like Rick Nelson?**

**Reviews make my day a happy day! :)**


	11. Gayvention

**Gayvention**

Fifteen minutes later Burt Hummel arrived with no more than a toolbox and his muscle power. Crouching down he inspected the damage to Blaine's tire with a deep frown.

"Bad news, buddy. Your tire's been sliced up with a knife. See here? A nice clear cut." He motioned for Blaine to have a closer look, then shoved his hat back into his neck. "Someone did this on purpose. You wanna call the police, son?"

"There's no need to get the police involved," Blaine hurried to say. "It's not like I could prove anything anyway. I'm just gonna tell my dad that I hit a stone or something."

Burt narrowed his eyes at him. "Sounds like you have a clue who did this."

"Uhm, yeah, but like I said I can't prove it so I'd better not point my finger at someone."

When Burt continued to stare at him questioningly Blaine cleared his throat and went on. "It's this guy, Rick Nelson. Kurt and I were just… uhm… we were in the hallway just earlier when Rick walked by and we... well, I provoked him. And probably now his pride is scratched and this is his way of revenge." Blaine shrugged. He wasn't going to snitch on his boyfriend by telling his father that it had actually been Kurt who had been provoking Rick.

"Look, this is not just a harmless prank," Burt said with worry in his voice, "this is serious business, Blaine. If this guy's able to mess with your car..."

"I know," Blaine cut in. "But don't worry, I can handle Rick Nelson."

"Ah yeah, so I've heard. Didn't you get suspension for _handling_ this guy?" Burt Hummel raised an eyebrow at him and Blaine instantly knew where Kurt got his penetrating stare from.

"I just didn't want him to get away with it," Blaine murmured and shoved his hands into his pockets. "They always get away with it."

"It's never easy to swallow down the anger of injustice. Believe me, I know what I'm talking about." Burt put a hand on Blaine's shoulder in a confidential way. "Listen, my kid's been bullied at this school. If there's anything going on I need to hear about it. I won't have Kurt suffering again. Or you. So I'm asking you to be honest with me, Blaine. I just wanna know what's going on. Are you being bullied by this guy?"

"No, sir," Blaine shook his head. "Rick's just being a jackass is all. I shouldn't have struck out on him yesterday. I'm gonna have to learn to keep my temper and ignore guys like him."

Burt sighed and scratched his head. "I get it that you got angry and frustrated and needed to _do_ something. I know that feeling just too well. How often did I want to just go and hit all those kids that gave Kurt a hard time? So I won't tell you to never throw a punch, kid. I just want you to consider when you need to fight and when not. If you're attacked, fight back like hell, alright? If you see that someone wants to physically hurt someone else, I want you to call for help and only step in if you're sure you're staying safe yourself."

"I'll always protect Kurt," Blaine replied without a trace of doubt in his voice. "He'll always be first priority to me."

Burt put a hand on Blaine's shoulder again. "I'm glad to hear that you're so protective of Kurt. But Blaine, first priority should always be your own skin. It doesn't make you selfish, okay? And calling for help doesn't make you weak. It makes you very dumb, however, if you get severely hurt or, let's say, _suspended_ for picking a fight with a guy that could be dealt with otherwise."

"I guess you're right," Blaine admitted with a sigh.

Burt nodded towards the car. "Now, there's a tire that needs to be changed. Lend me a hand?"

They got to work and Blaine helped as much as he could without getting his clothes dirty. Today he was dressed for success. Since he didn't know what his father had in mind for him he had dressed up in his best suit with bow tie and overcoat. If he was about to accompany his father to court or attend a meeting with clients he definitely couldn't sit there with dirt on his trousers.

"Will you please not tell Kurt about this?" Blaine asked again when they were finished. "I don't want him to get upset. He's already so worked up about my suspension and he thinks I don't enjoy McKinley. Well, I might not be in _love_ with McKinley but I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."

"I'm gonna have to tell Kurt, you know that, don't you?" Burt wiped his hands at a cloth he'd brought along. "It's not easy to keep secrets from Kurt and if he finds out we've been keeping this from him he'll be furious."

Blaine scrunched up his face and closed his trunk where they'd put the damaged tire. "Okay, you're right. He should hear about this. But let me tell him myself, okay?"

"Deal." Burt put his toolbox away into his truck and then turned around again. "Now, tell me what's with your parents not knowing about all this?"

"Uh, that's just... I don't want to upset them."

"Come on, buddy. What's really going on here? Don't you think your parents would wanna know about this kind of stuff?" Burt offered him chewing gum and the boy accepted, stalling for time by chewing for a while and leaning back against his car.

"The thing is if they found out I was in too much trouble at McKinley they'd send me straight back to Dalton," he finally answered, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "But I don't wanna go back there. My parents... they just want me to be safe. I'm an only child and my Mom..." His voice trailed off and he kept his gaze on his shoes. Burt didn't say anything but stayed by his side in a surprisingly comfortable silence.

After a moment Blaine swallowed and continued. "My Mom had surgery a few years back and she can't have any more children, so I'm all she'll ever have and she just wants me to be safe. That's why I don't want to tell them about stuff like this. It was hard enough for me to convince them to let me come back home... I mean letting me go to McKinley."

Blaine shook his head. He hadn't meant to make it sound like all his parents cared about was having him out of their way somewhere where they needn't to worry or think about him.

"In the end you're doing all this just to be with Kurt, aren't you?"

Blaine frowned. This was just another way of saying, _Are you a fool in love? _

"No," he answered firmly, looking up at the man. "I'm doing all this for me. It might be safer in Dalton, true. But McKinley is the real thing. There's no such thing as a no bullying policy in the real world. Better be prepared for it, right? I ran away once before and I regretted it ever since. I want to grow stronger to be able to protect Kurt."

Burt nodded at him with a serious expression, kind of proud and sad at the same time. "Just let me know if there's anything I can do for you."

"Thanks." Blaine appreciated Burt's concern, but it made him feel like a child that needed protection and couldn't deal with the world on its own. "You've been a great help already. Thank you so much for coming and changing my tire. Let me know how much I owe you and I'll pay you as soon as I can. Just please don't send an invoice to my parents, okay?"

"Woah, woah, hold on a sec, Blaine!" Burt held his hands up and laughed. "Are you kidding me? You're not seriously thinking I'd take money from you? I'm not gonna charge a cent from my son's boyfriend. I'd be a dead man if I did. Besides, Kurt could have changed that tire for you as well. He's actually pretty good at stuff like that."

"I bet." Blaine hung his head and blushed a bit in shame of not being able to take care of his car himself and at the mental image of his boyfriend in overalls and grease on his nose. "But well, I guess it's best I didn't ask him since he wouldn't want to get his clothes dirty with a long school day in front of him."

Burt grinned at that. "I'm sure he'd jump into a bathtub filled with mudd in his best clothes if it was for you." Burt tipped at his hat and turned towards his truck. "You can always call me, Blaine, you know that?"

"Thanks, Burt. I really appreciate it." He waved the mechanic goodbye and got into his car. Smiling to himself he wrote a mysterious text message to his boyfriend:

_Just had a gayvention with your dad. Tell you more tonight. – B _

Gayvention was only one of many crazy words he'd learned from Rachel. He wasn't even sure what exactly a _gay intervention_ was but he'd count talking about being bullied and judged for being gay as one.

* * *

><p>"There you are! We've been waiting for you!"<p>

Tara, the receptionist in his father's office, was a young woman with blonde hair tucked up into a ponytail and pink long fingernails. She looked up at him from behind her desk and took in his dapper appearance with raised eyebrows.

"Sorry, I had a problem with my car." Blaine smiled at her and shrugged out of his overcoat. Apparently the work that his father had in mind for him was so important that it couldn't wait any longer.

"What do I do?" He asked eagerly and fingered his bow-tie to check if it was still in place.

Tara pointed with a pencil to a large pile of paper on a table nearby. "Copy these! Mr Anderson needs them by half past nine on his desk. Not one minute later."

Blaine gaped at her for a long moment, causing her to look up at him again and adding with an urging nod, "You'd better hurry up!"

He slowly turned to pick up the pile of paper, still considering whether or not to tell her that this had to be a mistake and he was supposed to be a help for his father this week. But he didn't want to start arguing.

For the next hour he stood in front of the copy machine and kept looking at the door, hoping for someone to hurry in and tell him that his father was waiting for him to accompany him to some important meeting somewhere.

At half past nine sharp Blaine knocked at the door of his father's office and brought the pile of documents as well as the copies in and placed them neatly on the big desk. "Hi Dad," he said with a cheerfulness he wasn't really feeling. "I copied these for you. Is it okay if I put them down here?"

His father didn't even look up at him, but hit a button on his phone, saying, "Tara, I need to talk to Mr Atkins about the tax fraud case. Get him on the phone for me."

"Yes, Mr Anderson." Tara's voice came through the speaker.

"And call Mr Francer and reschedule his appointment. I really can't be bothered with him today."

"What do I tell him why his appointment is cancelled?"

"I don't care what you tell him, think of something! And someone bring me a coffee!"

"Okay, Mr Anderson."

Howard Anderson resumed reading his file. Blaine remained standing next to his desk and cleared his throat softly. Finally his father looked up at him. "What are you doing standing here? Go and make yourself useful. I'm sure the girls have something you can do."

"Yes, sir," Blaine replied through gritted teeth and turned on his heels.

If he had expected that his father would take him to court to get to attend an interesting trial or invite him to discuss a case with him or just let him study some interesting files, he had been wrong.

If he had expected to bond with his father this week by interacting at work together he'd been wrong.

Yeah, Blaine got the clue.

This was his father's way of showing him where he belonged. No, Blaine wasn't good enough to be working along-side of his dad. He wasn't worth his father's precious time. He was only good enough to be the errand-boy.

He tried not to be mad at his father. He knew he deserved being treated like a stupid servant. After all this was his punishment. He had yet to earn his father's respect.

For now he pushed these thoughts to the back of his mind and concentrated on getting the next task done.

* * *

><p>Two days went by like this. Blaine only caught glimpses of his father when he was told to bring a file or documents into his father's office. Howard Anderson would sit behind his desk, his nose deep in a file, not even looking up.<p>

Working in the office wasn't too bad. Blaine loved being busy and to have the comfort of a daily routine. He spend most of his time at the copy machine or running errands or searching the office for missing files.

Blaine made sure to wear his best clothes every day and checked his bow tie in the mirror every hour just in case his father decided to take him along somewhere. He was determined to make a good impression just in case he was introduced as Howard Anderson's son to someone.

Every day at five Blaine left the building completely exhausted. However, before he could go home he had to do groceries or drive by the dry-cleaner's to pick up clothes for his mother. When he got home in the evening he had to clean up the house or else his mother would freak out on him.

By the time he finally finished his chores for the day Blaine was so tired that he only showered quickly and fell into his bed with his TV running in the background and Tiffy curling up beside him and lulling him with her purring.

Two times in a row this was how he slept through the only thing he looked forward to all day long: talking with Kurt on the phone. By eight – their usual time – he was already fast asleep. They text messaged each other but Blaine hadn't heard Kurt's voice for two days and he already felt like he was on withdrawal treatment.

On the third day of his suspension Blaine was in the kitchen of the office early in the morning to get the coffeemaker running when there was an incoming call from an unknown number on his phone. Blaine looked down at it and hesitated. If this was Sebastian again calling from another number… He didn't answer the call. He had no desire to talk to that persistent boy again.

A minute later he received a text.

_Hey B! It's Mike. Call back when u read this ok? – M _

Blaine was surprised to see that it was Mike who tried to reach him. Wondering what was going on Blaine closed the kitchen door and quickly called his schoolmate back. "Hi Mike, sorry I didn't pick up my phone. I just have this thing not to answer calls from unknown numbers…"

"Yeah, sorry, should've given you my number earlier. Hey, listen up! Since you're suspended the guys were thinking about meeting after school for glee rehearsal. We still need to come up with something!"

"Oh, it's okay, you don't need to gather up just because of me. I'll be fine with whatever you guys decide."

"Yeah, well, that's kind of the problem, Blaine. You're one of the most creative heads of our group. Do you expect Puckerman or Finn or Sam to come up with something good? We need you to be there, alright?"

"If you put it so nicely…" Blaine laughed.

"Great! So how's your schedule? Can you meet up with us today at three?"

"I'm sorry, I have to work at my dad's until five."

"Oh, okay. How about lunch break then? We could meet at the Lima Bean. Can you make that?"

"I think I could. My dad's office isn't too far away from the Lima Bean. See you there then. Thanks for calling."

"Sure. And save my number!"

Blaine didn't know why but the chat with Mike had lifted up his spirits. It was nice to know he was needed and wanted in the group and to see that the guys would step outside their ways to meet him. However, he was torn between missing his boyfriend and being glad about the opportunity to get to know the guys better without Kurt around.

He looked down at his phone again when a text message arrived from Kurt. With a smile he opened it.

_I miss you! :'( – K _

"Oh Kurt, I miss you, too," he murmured and was about to type a message back to his boyfriend when Tara came in looking stressed out already.

"There you are! Put that phone away, we need you! We have to envelop five hundred invitations by ten o'clock. It's just Emily, you and me. Hurry up!"

Blaine stuffed his phone away without a chance to answer Kurt. He followed Tara to the front desk where Emily had already started putting invitation cards into envelopes. The girl looked relieved to see him. "Thank God you're helping us, Blaine!"

"That's what I'm here for," he replied with a smile and grabbed a pile of invitations and envelopes and got to work.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks a million for all your wonderful reviews and your ideas! I love it when you make suggestions! Any feedback is very much appreciated! :D<strong>

**_SilverWhiteDragon_, I love your idea about Sue having a camera monitoring the parking lot. Perhaps I'm gonna use that. **

**_TriangleBrows_, thank you for your song suggestion. I'm not sure yet if I can use it but it's definitely noted. **

**Btw I'm off to vacation and won't be online for a week. But as soon as I'm back I bet my head and my notebook are gonna be full of ideas to continue this. ;)**

**I can tell you this much already: Next up we'll have Blaine meet the New Direction boys and Sebastian. Mike will prove to be a really good friend and Sebastian will prove to be utterly annoying. Also Sebastian will show up at Blaine's workplace! And at the end of the day Blaine will end up in Kurt's arms! So I guess that's a lot to look forward to! ;)**

**Anybody out there who can tell in which season one episode Rachel talked about a _gayvention_? ;) Come on, I know you know it! **

**Reviews?**


	12. My Way

**My Way**

Blaine felt excited in a good way when he entered the Lima Bean at lunch time. After all those tiring morning hours in the office it was refreshing to be meeting with the boys again. The New Direction boys were already gathered around three tables drawn together, talking and laughing loudly. Blaine made his order and met Rory at the sugar station to fix his coffee.

"Hello Blaine." Rory greeted him and then pointed at Blaine. "You know I really like those bow-ties you're wearing? Do you think they would suit me, too? I really want to impress Sugar," the Irish boy admitted with a beaming smile.

"Sugar?" Blaine looked up at him quizzically. "She was a member of the Troubletones, wasn't she?"

"Right. Now she wants to join the New Directions. But Mr Schue won't let her until after the girls versus boys performance. Apparently he's so glad about his lucky numbers, seven against seven." Rory shrugged and made his way to their table with Blaine following along.

"Anderson! We saved you a seat!" Blaine was greeted with a fist-bump by Finn.

"Hi everyone!" Blaine sat down between Kurt's brother and Rory. "Thanks for meeting up here so that I can join in. I really appreciate it."

"You didn't miss anything so far." Finn filled him in. "We're still discussing who's gonna get a solo."

"Oh, alright," Blaine said. Back at the Warbler's the council had decided who got a solo. Since he had been the guy with the best voice he'd been lucky enough to get every solo back then. He was curious about how New Directions handled the situation.

"Do you know paper scissor stone?" Finn asked and Blaine stared back at him, baffled. "I do, why?"

"The winner gets the solo."

"You're kidding me," Blaine almost choked on his coffee.

"I'm for another kind of selection this time," Mike piped up. "Artie always beats me."

"Because you're always going for stone," Artie shrugged. "You're too predictable."

"Have we even decided on a song yet?" Blaine cut in. "Don't get me wrong, but shouldn't we first decide on a song and then see whose voice suits the song best?"

"Don't do the intellectual thing with us, Mr Smart," Puckerman grunted. "I say the sexiest guy at this table gets the solo!" With a grin Puckerman smoothed a hand over his mohawk and there was no doubt that he thought he was the guy with the most sex appeal.

Rory puckered his lips and tapped them with one finger, saying, "How about the _bravest_ guy at this table gets the solo?"

"That sure ain't you, little bit!" Puck told him and reached out to pat Rory's head.

Rory ducked away out of reach and shrugged. "That's alright. I don't want the solo anyway."

"Okay then, who's the bravest?" Finn looked around the table eagerly.

"I'd say the Puckster," Artie said with a grin. "After all he was brave enough to date Lauren Zizes!"

The boys snickered at this.

"Sam was brave enough to striptease in a bar," Finn pointed out with a cheeky grin.

"And you've been brave enough to kiss Rachel onstage at Nationals," Sam shot back. "And take the crap of all of us afterwards."

"To add in a serious statement," Blaine held up his hand, "I have to say it was very brave of Artie to volunteer to direct the musical and take on all the responsibility coming with the job."

"Thanks." Artie flashed him a happy smile. "But actually, I just loved bossing everyone around."

"You know the bravest guy I've seen so far was at junior prom," Mike said, raising his cup to take a sip.

"Oh thanks," Finn waved off. "I'd go and hit that Jesse-guy all over again."

"Dude," Puckerman chimed in. "Mike's talking about me for distracting Coach Sylvester while Artie spiked the punch."

"Guys, I'm talking about Kurt," Mike shook his head as if it should have been obvious. "When he came back in to be crowned I was stunned by his courage to face everyone after they publically humiliated him."

Everybody got quiet considering this and nodding eventually.

Blaine chewed the insides of his cheeks. Remembering prom night always came with a bitterness for him. That night would have been perfect if it wasn't for the humiliation part. He was so proud of the way Kurt had handled that situation and got out of it stronger. It made him happy to hear that someone else acknowledged Kurt's courage that night.

"The second bravest man that night was Blaine," Mike elaborated and Blaine's eyes widened in surprise, "for stepping forward and dance with Kurt after Karofsky left him standing in the middle of the dance floor. Especially considering the fact that you guys haven't been dancing together all night long as not to draw attention to yourselves. It must have been really hard for both of you to stand up to all the homophobic jerks. So I'm voting for Blaine being the bravest man sitting at this table."

"Oh, no, you can't put it like that," Blaine said humbly, fiddling with the lid of his coffee.

"Also he was in a fight club at Dalton," Finn added. "Not to mention the way he'd kicked Rick Nelson earlier this week."

Now everyone stared at Blaine in awe.

"Guys, it's really not a big deal. I'm not that brave at all," Blaine tried to wave it off. He considered mentioning that he only started boxing because he was sick of being bullied and feeling defenseless all of the time. But he kept his mouth shut about it.

After a moment's consideration everyone agreed and it was decided that Blaine would get the solo.

"So now we need to come up with a song!" Finn said looking around at everyone. "Any suggestions?"

Blaine was amazed by how complicated yet easy things were with the guys. Yeah, New Directions were a mess, but they had won Sectionals after all. And now he was a part of the mess, too. He finally felt included and although he missed the routine and discipline of the Warblers at times, he was amazed that New Directions actually worked.

And he wondered briefly what it would be like next year when most of the guys were graduating and New Directions would have to find new talents to fill the void. Thinking about this made him feel uneasy. Artie and Rory were the only guys who were juniors, too, so he tried his best to become friends with them.

Still, Blaine hated the fact that he was a junior.

Sometimes he wondered why none of them ever asked him WHY he was still a junior. Seeing how he was 18 years old it would be a legitimate question. Perhaps they assumed that he had to repeat a year because he was incredibly stupid. At times he wanted them to ask but then again he didn't actually want to tell. After all spending months in a hospital after being beaten up by a bunch of homophobes wasn't a funny story to tell.

"Come on guys!" Finn clapped his hands to wake everyone up. "It's about time that we come up with something or the girls will stomp all over us! They're already working on their costumes!"

Rory scrunched up his face timidly. "We have no idea for a song at all and the girls even had time to prepare that Katy Perry impromptu number! How do they do that?"

"All we need to do is finally start some serious brainstorming," Artie explained. "Okay, now everybody says the name of the first dead artist that comes to his mind. I say Michael Jackson!"

"We already did a Michael number at Sectionals," Sam pointed out. "They'll think we're too stupid to come up with anything else."

"Do you think the girls will do another number like I Kissed A Girl?" Rory asked dreamily and placed his cheek in one hand. "'Cos that was hot!"

Puck leaned across the table curiously. "Say, Irish, have you ever seen a girl naked? I mean a _real_ girl and not just on pictures?"

"You don't have to answer that, Rory," Blaine put a hand on the boy's arm who was blushing a deep red at Puckerman's blunt question.

"How about we do an Elvis Presley medley?" Mike threw in. "He's got some good songs."

"Yeah, but according to rumors it's not a hundred percent sure that Elvis is actually dead," Artie contemplated, nudging his glasses. "He might still be alive somewhere."

"Frank Sinatra had some great songs," Rory suggested who had quickly recovered from Puck's investigation.

Blaine snapped his fingers and beamed at the boy, "Sinatra! Fantastic idea!" And before someone could stop them, Blaine and Rory burst out into song,

"I faced it all and I stood tall  
>For what is a man, what has he got?<br>If not himself, then he has naught

To say the things he truly feels  
>And not the words of one who kneels<br>The record shows I took the blows

To think I did all that  
>And may I say, not in a shy way,<br>Oh no no no, I DID IT MYYYY WAAAAY!"

The guys clapped and Blaine and Rory both stood to bow, grinning from ear to ear.

"As nice as this was," Artie said when the two of them sat down again, "I'm afraid it is too old school. We have to come up with something exciting if we wanna impress the girls."

They went on discussing songs and artists and Blaine felt kind of guilty because he was actually glad to be around the guys without Kurt for a change. Of course he missed his boyfriend, but ever since Blaine had transfered to McKinley he had felt like he was just Kurt Hummel's Boyfriend in everyone's eyes. He wanted to make his own connection with his teammates. After all when Kurt graduated he was on his own.

To his own surprise Blaine was included more easily into the guy's circle when Kurt wasn't around. They didn't treat Blaine like the Gay Dude at all but like one of their own. He would have enjoyed it more if it hadn't been for the fact that they didn't treat Kurt the same.

Blaine was still trying to figure out why they thought of Kurt as girly whereas Blaine was male in their eyes. He had no clue what was going on in these guys heads. When Kurt was around they wouldn't feel at ease the same way they did when Blaine was around. Just like guys used to act differently when a girl was in their midst. It was all still so confusing and...

"Hey B," suddenly Mike leaned towards Blaine and whispered, "Isn't that the Warbler-guy who talked you up after Sectionals over there?"

"What? Who?" Blaine looked up and swung his head around and immediately wished he hadn't, because it was Sebastian Smythe at a table nearby. The Warbler was out of uniform, sitting all by himself, pretending to be consumed by his phone, but watching Blaine from the corner of his eye and now that Blaine had turned around, Sebastian smiled at him and raised a hand in greeting.

Blaine nodded shortly and turned away again, hoping Sebastian wasn't encouraged to walk over. The least thing Blaine wanted to do was talk to him. But of course Sebastian The Annoying Warbler would take every chance he got to chat Blaine up, so a second later he popped up at Blaine's side.

"Blaine Anderson." Sebastian approached the table with slow strides, his hands stuffed casually into his pockets and his ever present flashy smile plastered on his face. "I thought I'd just heard your marvellous voice over here going all Sinatra."

He stopped right next to Blaine and nodded at everyone. "Hi guys. What kind of gathering are you having here?"

"It's a brainstorming, you know, for the girls versus boys," Finn was explaining unhesitating. "We still have to come up with something."

"Right." Sebastian looked around at everyone and said with a mock-concerned voice, "I see Kurt's not with you? I hope he's well?"

"Oh, yeah, he's joined the girls," Finn said as if it was understood.

"Of course," Sebastian replied and the smug look spreading on Sebastian's face made Blaine want to retch.

"So you guys drive all the way to Lima Bean for lunch break? Isn't that a bit outré just for avoiding the girls eavesdropping on you in the cafeteria?"

"Nah, it's just that we can't meet up at school because Blaine's suspended for a week," Finn explained casually as if this was common knowledge.

Blaine immediately frowned at Finn. He didn't want Sebastian to know private things about him. Why on earth did the ND boys have to be such gossips?

"Suspended?" Sebastian raised his brows, looking highly amused. "Wow! Blaine, you _naughty_ boy! What did you do?"

"He punched some jackass for slushying Kurt," Finn told proudly, not noticing the death glare Blaine shot him. In this second Blaine was very tempted to forget his manners and kick Finn under the table.

"Kurt took a slushy in the face?" Sebastian snickered and grinned mischiveously at this news and Blaine had to hold himself back from placing his fist into the Warbler's face which so deserved a punch right now.

"What for?"

"Wearing a feather boa to school!" Puck provided with a grin.

"Really? That's so gay!" Sebastian made a face and then winked at Blaine. "But I guess some guys are into it."

"Yeah, well, it was kinda stupid of Kurt to walk around like that," Finn commented. "He should have known that it was kinda risky to be wearing a feather boa in the halls of McKinley."

"Actually," Mike spoke up. "If Blaine hadn't brought that boa into school Kurt wouldn't have felt obligated to wear it and none of this would have happened."

Blaine looked up and met Mike's gaze who just shrugged like he wanted to say, sorry, dude, but that's the way it is.

Blaine smiled, weirdly feeling relieved about being told that he'd made a mistake. This was what he had wanted all along, for someone to acknowledge that the Rick Nelson incident had been his fault and not Kurt's. He didn't want to be celebrated like a hero when the truth was that he'd screwed up.

"Just because Blaine gave him that silly boa he can't be held responsible for Kurt actually wearing it," Finn pointed out.

"That's not how it works," Mike argued. "I gave Tina a neckless once. She didn't tell me that she thought it was super ugly and tacky but wore it anyway because I gave it to her. She didn't want to hurt my feelings by rejecting my gift. When she finally told me a few days later I told her it was okay to stop wearing it."

"Okay, but the thing is Kurt actually _liked_ wearing the boa," Finn pointed out once more. "So it's not Blaine's fault that Kurt got slushied for it."

Before the boys could dig more detailed into the whole story of the feather boa Blaine cut in quickly, "Is there anything you want, Sebastian? We only have lunch break to meet up, so I'm afraid we don't have time for a chit-chat."

Sebastian who had followed this exchange interestedly now smiled down at Blaine again. "Oh, you know what I _want_, don't you? But you're right and I'm being rude for interrupting you guys. So, Blaine, what do you do for your week off?"

"He works at his dad's office," Finn supplied and Blaine shot him another glaring look.

"Thanks, Finn, but I can speak for myself," he said with his voice rising dangerously and hoped the message got across.

"At your dad's office?" Sebastian repeated. "What do you have to do there?"

"Nothing too exciting," Blaine answered dismissively.

"He stands at the copy machine all day long," Finn said with a chuckle.

"Ouch." Sebastian made a face. "What a waste of talent."

Sebastian put his hand on Blaine's shoulder in what seemed a gesture of sympathy but Blaine had to resist the urge to shrug him off. He didn't want Sebastian to touch him. But he couldn't make a scene about it in front of the boys. They would become curious about what was going on. And there was NOTHING going on.

"How's your own glee practice going?" Sam was asking. "Do the Warbler's have a song yet?"

"It's either the Beach Boys or the Beatles. The council's still undetermined and I'm bored to death." Sebastian gave a one-sided shrug and went on, "Considering that we're missing out on one amazing Blaine Anderson at the Warbler's table I don't see us standing a chance against those Unitards. On the other hand it looks like you guys holding the throphy in the end isn't a very likely picture either."

"What makes you so certain that we will lose?" Artie asked clearly concerned about this possibility.

"Let me see," Sebastian put one finger on his chin. "Seeing how my teammates are all as straight as a stick I believe they are biased to vote for your lovely girls."

"Last time I checked Nick and Jeff were still Warbler's, too," Blaine pointed out. "And definitely not straight."

"Oh dear, those two? Blaine, _please_! They're so lovey-dovey with each other they wouldn't notice a hot guy if he danced in front of them dressed in no more than a red thong and a rainbow bow-tie. If the girls happen to sing a tacky love song, they'll vote for the girls."

"So you're saying we don't stand a chance?" Artie asked again.

"Highly unlikely." Sebastian nodded with an apologetic grimace. "However," Sebastian paused for attention, "my Warbler fellows are keen on winning. We can't go losing against this Harmony girl and her shallow background singers. So I was thinking that we could make some kind of arrangement."

"An arrangement? What are you offering?" Finn asked, narrowing his brows warily.

Now Sebastian spoke in a slow deep voice. "I will convince my teammates to vote for you if you guys consider voting for us in return. You know, winning against the Unitards is a matter of pride. I mean, _puh-lease_, they didn't even make it to Regionals."

"If winning is such a matter of pride to you," Blaine spoke up, his voice hissing, "how does it make you proud when you only win by CHEATING?"

"Relax, my friend," Sebastian leaned down confidentially and whispered into his ear. "I can tell you're way too _tight_."

Blaine stiffened and tilted his head away from Sebastian's breath, still resisting the urge to brush his persistent hand off him.

"Well, Blaine's right, we wanna win fair and square," Finn told the Warbler, oblivious to Blaine's inner turmoil. "So we have to turn your offer down."

"Your bad," Sebastian shrugged and glanced at his watch. "Gotta go. Good luck with your brainstorming, guys. Blaine, see you online." He gave Blaine's shoulder one last squeeze before getting on his way again and leaving the coffee shop.

With one quick move Blaine rubbed his shoulder where Sebastian's hand had rested and swallowed hard. He shouldn't let Sebastian get to him. He was harmless. Just an utter annoyance. But harmless.

"What's up with that guy?" Puck adressed Blaine with drawn eyebrows. "He was like, totally drooling all over you!"

"I thought he was a Dalton friend of yours, wasn't he?" Finn of course was absolutely oblivious to Sebastian's advances on Blaine.

"Dude, are you blind?" Puck barked at Finn. "That guy totally has the hots for Anderson!"

"You better not tell Kurt about him," Mike advised. "I remember one time Tina got jealous when I did a dance number with Brittany and for whatever reason Tina thought I had something going on with Britt. It's no fun to have to deal with a jealous girlfriend, so you'd better watch out!"

Blaine bit down on his lips. He knew Mike was wanting to help him, but again Kurt had been addressed as a girl and it started to annoy him.

"Kurt's not my _girlfriend_," he pointed out as calmly as possible.

"Oh, my God! You've split up? When the hell did that happen?" Finn asked horrified and turned in his seat to stare at Blaine. "Kurt didn't say anything!"

"How can you guys break up and we don't know nothing about it?" Sam's eyes got all big and round. "I thought one couldn't keep secrets at McKinley!"

Artie put a hand over his heart as if expecting a strike any second. "Seriously, you and Kurt splitting up is like the world as we knew it coming crashing down."

"This is bad, man!" Puck looked crashed. "Like, _really_ bad. Is there any chance of you guys getting back together?"

"I can't believe this," Rory sobbed and got a tissue out to wipe at his eyes. "You guys were my OTP."

Blaine opened his mouth, but he was speechless. The guys totally didn't get what he had wanted to point out. The worst part was that the guys were all serious about it. They were in shock about a possible break-up.

He raised his hands to calm the bunch of them down. "Guys, hold on! Kurt and I are still together. All I said was that Kurt isn't my girlfriend. Because obviously he's my _boyfriend_!"

Blaine arched his eyebrows at them, waiting for the clue to click in. Still there were six dumbfounded gazes directed at him.

"Now, that's splitting hairs, don't you think?" Puck shot a filthy grin over the table at Blaine. "C'mon, we all know you're the man in this relationship."

Blaine narrowed his eyes. "We're both guys."

"You know what I mean," Puck went on with a wink. "Don't tell us Kurt isn't the bottom."

Now it was Blaine's turn to be stunned. He couldn't believe that his sex life was so casually adressed. He didn't even know how to feel about hearing Puckerman so nonchalantly assume that Kurt bottomed. For Blaine bottoming wasn't the female part like most straight guys seemed to think about it. The thing was they hadn't done that much yet, sexually. They were still kind of experimenting and simply did whatever pleasured them.

Their first time together had been overwhelming. Being naked around each other for the first time, touching, kissing, exploring their bodies had been a sensual pleasure on so many levels. The trust between them had blown Blaine away. He'd never experienced anything like that before.

They didn't want to go all the way just yet and they hadn't talked about who would be topping or bottoming, but he was sure that Kurt would want to experience _everything_. Blaine didn't think of Kurt as the girl in their relationship, neither did he think of himself this way. He liked to think that they were both equals.

Slowly it dawned on him why the kids at McKinley saw Kurt this way and he didn't like it. Could it be that because Blaine was kind of a manly gay that everyone jumped to conclusions and assumed that Kurt was the _girl_ in their relationship? This way of thinking was just silly. In the end it didn't matter what everyone else was thinking about them. They would just keep on doing things at their own speed and in their own way and they would be fine.

Blaine took a deep breath and circled the cup of coffee between his hands. "I definitely won't talk about my love life with you guys."

"Why not? We talk about our girlfriends all of the time," Sam said encouragingly. "Getting some advice from the guys can be helpful when dealing with the girls."

Blaine held his hands up. "Again, Kurt's _not_ a girl."

"Not physically, no," Puck agreed, smirking. "But in bed eventually one of you has to be the _girl_, right?"

"Stop it, dude!" Finn nudged his best friend hard. "You're talking about Kurt! Geez, I don't want images in my head!"

Blaine decided to ignore Puck's comment although the urge was strong to just punch him in the face. "While we're at it I tell you guys _again_ not to treat Kurt like a girl. That's just weird."

"But you're treating him like a girl yourself, you know?" Sam pointed out, taking a bite of his chocolate cookie.

Blaine looked up in surprise. "Like when?"

"Like you always hold the door for him."

"I hold the door for _anybody_. It's called manners!"

"I saw you lending him a hand a couple of times," Finn joined in.

Blaine sighed and closed his eyes for a sec. He realized that as much as he wanted to blend in he wasn't like the other boys. They couldn't understand his relationship with Kurt, because they didn't understand what it was like being gay.

What he _wanted_ to tell them was, "I do that because I don't want to miss an opportunity to touch him. But you wouldn't understand, because you can be all PDA-y with your girlfriends all of the time without being stared at!"

What he _actually_ said was, "Yeah, well, when Kurt's wearing those boots I don't want him to trip, that's all."

"Blaine, here's the thing," Sam said, grinning like an idiot about being able to teach him a lesson. "Guys help girls so they don't trip. If another guy trips you just laugh at him. That's understood. So by helping Kurt you treat him like a girl."

The other guys nodded their affirmations.

"Back to business, guys? We're running out of time," Mike said with a tap at his watch. "Are we agreed to do Michael? Then I suggest that Blaine and I work out a choreo."

Blaine looked up in surprise. "You want me to help you with the choreography?"

"Of course," Mike said, tipping the rim of his white hat. "You're the only other guy in this group with actual dancing skills. Come on, we all know you just joined booty camp so you could spend more time with Kurt and not because you were lacking the moves. Besides, after Sectionals we all know you can do Michael. You and I are perfect for the job."

"If you say so, Mike." Blaine was grinning like an idiot.

If this was a Warbler's meeting this would be the right time for the council to bang the gavel.

"No objections?" Finn looked around, clearly relieved that he wasn't the chosen one for the dancing part. "Let's head back to school then."

* * *

><p>Blaine left the Lima Bean along with the guys who headed straight to their cars. A few steps towards his own car Blaine noticed that Sebastian was still around. The persistent Warbler was pacing the sidewalk close to Blaine's car and as soon as he spotted Blaine he over.<p>

"Blaine, I've been waiting for you."

"I can see that," Blaine answered rather unfriendly. "But I'm in a hurry, sorry."

"Wait up, I wanna talk to you."

"It's time you learn that things don't always go your way!" Blaine snarled at him and opened the door to his car.

"Oh you're wrong about that. Things _always_ go my way."

Sebastian reached out in a seemingly casual manner and pushed the door shut again before Blaine could get inside of his car, almost crushing Blaine's hand in the process.

When he jerked his hand away just in time Blaine dropped his car keys. "Woah, are you crazy?" Blaine exclaimed angrily and looked up at the Warbler.

"I guess I am," Sebastian pondered. "Crazy for you."

"Then you should go see a doctor," Blaine huffed. "Do you mind? I have to go. I'm already late."

"Calm down, killer." Sebastian leaned in closer. "You don't want to make a scene in the parking lot, do you?"

Blaine started looking around to where his friends were getting into their cars. "I really gotta go, Sebastian."

Blaine bent down to pick up his keys.

Sebastian got down with him and while being out of sight between the parking cars he pulled at the front of Blaine's jacket to keep him down.

"Hey, what...?" Blaine struggled to keep his balance and started to protest but then Sebastian grabbed the back of Blaine's head with his right hand and dragged him close to kiss him.

* * *

><p><strong>Wahey I'm back from my vacation! And I'm full of ideas for torturing Blaine! ;)<strong>

**Thank you for reading and reviews are love!**


	13. Crawling In My Skin

**Crawling In My Skin**

One moment Blaine was crouching down to grab for his lost keys, the next moment Sebastian had a firm grip on him, pulling him forward, making him almost lose balance.

Kissing him.

The instant their mouths met Blaine pressed his lips tightly shut before Sebastian could shove his tongue in.

Apparently amused by Blaine's shut-down the Dalton student chuckled against his closed mouth. Being denied a proper kiss Sebastian stuck his tongue out and licked square over Blaine's lips and halfway up his cheek.

"URGH!" Blaine got out of his shocked-state and struggled to get Sebastian's hands off him. When he forcefully shoved him away they both fell on their butts.

With that smirky grin of his, Sebastian got back up, brushing off his trousers and leaning nonchalantly against Blaine's car. "What? You didn't like that?" Sebastian teased him.

Slowly Blaine rose to his feet as well, adjusting the collar of his jacket and wiping furiously his mouth, looking at the other boy with a disgusted grimace.

"I can't believe you _licked_ me," Blaine hissed through gritted teeth. "You're _disgusting_. Are you seriously thinking I'll change my mind about you when you force yourself on me? It just makes me despise you even more."

"You want me," Sebastian stated with no trace of doubt in his voice. "You just don't know it yet."

Blaine shook his head. "How many times do I have to repeat myself? I have a _boyfriend_!"

"Ts, ts, ts." Sebastian was studying his nails. "You don't get it, do you? I don't do boyfriends. I don't wanna _be_ with you and live happily ever after. For all I care you can keep your silly boyfriend." He arched his eyebrows at Blaine and his vicious grin reappeared as he leaned slightly forward and lowered his voice.

"I just wanna _fuck_ you, Blaine Anderson. Get my cock up that perfect ass of yours just once. Okay, maybe twice. Hey, I'm offering you the fuck of your _lifetime_." He shrugged casually. "And then we can go separate ways again."

Blaine clenched his fists and bit down hard on his lips. This was it! He was gonna hit that son of a bitch and...

"Hey, Blaine! Got a minute?"

Sebastian's face turned into a pissed expression. Apparently he hated being interrupted when he was about to scare his prey into motionlessness.

Blaine was relieved to hear Mike's voice and see how Sebastian was backing off. As much as he wanted to punch Sebastian, he had to remember to keep his cool. It was only words. Sebastian was harmless. He wouldn't actually go any further than throwing stupid, hurtful, rude words at him. And Blaine was better than that. He wouldn't get himself into a fight over this. Right?

Blaine took a deep breath and turned around to his friend who slowly approached them. "Sure. Sebastian was just gonna leave."

Sebastian granted him this escape. He saluted Blaine and his smirky grin was back on when he finally went to get to his own car. "See you around, Blaine Anderson."

"Hey there. What's up, Mike?" Blaine asked, trying not to sound too relieved about Sebastian's departure but he couldn't keep the tremble out of his voice and he just realized that his hands were shaking.

"Nothing. I just saw you there with _him_ and thought I'd better come over." Mike eyed him from underneath the rim of his hat with a serious expression. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, sure, I'm fine," Blaine said a little too eagerly while he kept brushing his hand over his lips to get rid of the feeling of Sebastian's tongue.

_I just wanna fuck you!_

Suddenly he felt nauseated and stumbled back against his car.

"You sure?" Mike stepped forward and placed a hand on Blaine's shoulder. To Blaine's embarrassement he flinched away, causing Mike to take his hand away like he was burned.

"Sorry, B. I didn't mean to..."

"It's okay," Blaine said quickly. "I just... I guess I'm a bit stressed out. I have a lot going on right now..."

Mike nodded understandingly. "Your parents weren't happy to hear about your suspension, right? I feel with you, man. I'd shit my pants if I had to tell my dad I was being suspended."

"Well, yeah, my parents weren't amused." Blaine didn't want to elaborate further, although he was glad about Mike's empathy on the matter.

"Listen, I'm not one to tell you what to do, but about this guy..." Mike cocked his head into the direction where Sebastian had driven off. "What's his name again?"

"Sebastian Smythe." Blaine spat that name out.

"Right. I don't like him. He's too sleazy for my liking and you can tell from a distance he's up to no good. You shouldn't get too involved with him."

"I don't want to, believe me," Blaine answered with a bitter laugh, surprised by Mike's keen observation. "He's, like, interested in me and no matter how often I tell him to leave me alone, he just won't."

Mike seemed to consider this and puckered his lips. "What a dick! If you need any help to keep him off your back, you can count on me, alright? Just give me a call when he bothers you again and I will gather the guys to come and deal with this idiot!"

"Wow, thanks," Blaine said, baffled by this offer. "But he's harmless, really, he's just a bragger who can't take no for an answer. He'll lose interest soon. Until then I can deal with him on my own."

"I have no doubt that you can do that, Mr Fight Club." Mike gave him a nod. "Still, if he continues to give you shit, just let us know, 'kay?"

"I will," Blaine said with a tiny smile. "Thanks for checking in on me, Mike."

Mike took off his white hat, whirled it around one finger and then popped it on Blaine's head. "Keep this on. It helps me keep my cool. Maybe it helps you, too."

The Asian boy gave him a wrysmile and finger-gunned him. "Don't forget to text me about appointments for practice. I can come over to your house if you want. Or we can meet up at my place. My dad's cool about my dancing since we did the musical. He even turned a room in the basement into some kind of studio for me."

"Sounds awesome." Blaine checked his watch. "Shit, I really gotta go! I can't be late! I'll text you later!"

* * *

><p>Driving back to the office Blaine couldn't help thinking of Kurt. Back when Karofsky had forced a kiss on him. Blaine had been arrogant enough to think he'd understood Kurt's pain. But now it dawned on him that he hadn't. Not at all.<p>

_There's something inside me that pulls beneath the surface  
><em>

_Consuming, confusing  
><em>

At a red light he opened the glove box and dug around for a CD which he knew was in there. He'd hidden it away so Kurt wouldn't find it and judge him for it. Who would have thought that dapper always-smiling and Katy Perry loving Blaine Anderson would listen to this kind of music? The truth was after the Sadie Hawkins Dance he'd drowned himself into this hard rock and heavy metal stuff as a kind of outlet for his boiling emotions. Until he had reached a point when he had realized that it was no good losing himself into his own anger and hurt.

It was the kind of music he heard in his head when he was boxing.

It was the kind of music he sometimes needed to keep his head clean.

_This lack of self control I fear is never ending_

_Controlling  
><em>

When he needed to fantasize about things he'd never do in real life. Like punching someone who'd stepped on his shoes. Ah, well. Puckerman. Rick. Sebastian. You're all gonna get to know me. One fine day.

Until then, he kept it crawling in his skin.

He pushed the CD in, tilted Mike's hat deep into his eyes and hit his steering wheel to the angry sound of bass, drums and screaming voices.

_I can't seem to find myself again_

Back in the office he started the afternoon by making coffee for everyone, then going to get the mail from the post box and distributing it out to the different departments of the office. Afterwards he resumed his place at the copy machine for the rest of the day.

All the work kept him busy but it didn't help to keep his mind from thinking too much.

Instead he couldn't stop thinking about everything.

How everybody was labeling him. And Kurt.

_My walls are closing in_

_Without a sense of confidence_

How the guys at school were thinking without a doubt that he was topping. Whereas Sebastian clearly saw him as a bottom. And Blaine didn't even want to think about this stuff! It was none of their business anyway! He didn't walk around judging everyone or making suggestions about everyone's sexual preferences!

_I'm convinced there's just too much pressure to take_

It made him so incredible angry! He just wanted to scream at all of them! Instead he was screaming inside of his head where no one could hear him. Where it was safe for him to freak out without having people around to judge him or tell him to keep himself together.

_I've felt this way before_

_So insecure_

He kept looking at his watch. It was almost five o'clock. He couldn't wait to get out of this small dusty room. But then Tara brought him another stack of papers that needed to be copied and he couldn't leave before he was done. "No problem," he answered with a sigh.

_Crawling in my skin_

_These wounds they will not heal_

It was only a few minutes later that the door to the copy room opened again and Blaine prepared for another pile of papers thrown his way. But then he heard a male voice speak up.

_Fear is how I fall_

_Confusing what is real_

"Hey, you sexy thing."

With a jerk Blaine turned and stared at Sebastian who was wearing the same green-white striped polo shirt and khaki trousers from earlier. All casual. Just like the way he was leaning against the doorframe.

"What are you doing here?" Blaine made sure his voice sounded just as pissed as he felt.

"So happy to see you, too," Sebastian replied with a smirk, crossing the room with smooth strides.

"My father is a client of your father and sometimes he sends me to drop off some important documents." Along with his words he carelessly dropped a thick file on the table next to the copy machine. "Guess what? This needs to be copied."

"Just leave it here," Blaine answered, turning his back on Sebastian in a rather rude way to dismiss him. "I'll see to it when I have the time."

"Ah, no. You see I'm told to wait and bring these documents right back," Sebastian explained with an apologetic shrug. "The faster you work the faster I'm gone."

Blaine bit his tongue to stop himself from making some smartass comment. Instead he put his current workload aside and grabbed the file Sebastian had brought him. "It'll be a minute," he told the wall in front of him. "Why don't you go wait in the waiting room?"

"I'd rather stay," Sebastian purred and Blaine tensed up. Sebastian had come closer, standing right behind him and breathing down his neck. And before Blaine knew what was happening Sebastian's greedy hands were on his butt.

Blaine turned and with a forceful shove he brought an arm's length distance between them. "Do you mind?" he asked harshly.

Sebastian licked his lips. "You're playing hard to get. I love that."

"For you I'm _impossible_ to get. Keep your filthy hands off me!"

"Shh," Sebastian placed a finger on his lips. "Quiet! Be a good boy, Blaine. You wouldn't want to make a scene in here, would you?"

Blaine noticed that this was exactly what Sebastian had said earlier in the parking lot. It was like a dare me. Sebastian thought he had Blaine in the palm of his hand because he wouldn't want to freak out in his father's office. Which was right.

But Blaine didn't want to let Sebastian get his way either.

"It's really impressive how full of shit you are, Sebastian! Guess what? Even if I wasn't taken I'd never fall for someone like you!"

"Wow, it's interesting how you always bring up your boyfriend. Is he some kind of lighthouse for you?" Sebastian paced the small room and spread his venom casually. "Do you ask him for permission when you wanna go have a pee? Does he tell you over the phone what outfit you ought to wear the next day so it matches his?"

"First of all, my relationship with Kurt is none of your business. Just because you don't want a commited relationship doesn't mean you have the right to judge people who are actually in love with each other."

"Hey, you can't blame me for showing you some more fun options."

"Whatever the options I will always choose Kurt."

"Then I need to tell you that you've got a really awful taste in men. I mean he sings with the girls? Seriously? How gay can one be? While it's not his fault that he's born with a bad case of gay face, it's his choice to dress up like a flamboyant peacock. With someone like him you could as well have gone for a girl. You sure you're actually gay?"

Blaine dug his fingernails into his palms to keep himself off Sebastian's throat, and hissed between gritted teeth, "Insulting my boyfriend gets you nowhere, Sebastian. Kurt's sense of fashion is awesome! I admire him every day. He doesn't hide away to avoid trouble. In fact it takes a lot of courage to stay true to yourself."

"Yes, but if trouble crosses his path he drags you into it as well. He's so _obvious_. He walks around like an open invitation for homophobes to beat him up. You're bound to get into trouble with him by your side. I heard he wore a kilt at junior prom? And made you dance with him? At a public school?"

"You call it getting into trouble? I call it standing up for yourself. If it wasn't for Kurt I'd never been able to fight my demons."

Sebastian nodded slowly as if showing that he understood. "I heard about what happened to you when you were fourteen," Sebastian suddenly said and Blaine looked up sharp. "You've been bullied really bad at your old high school and you've lost one school year because you ended up in hospital after being beaten up at a school dance. That's why you're still a junior."

"Who told you that?" Blaine crosses his arms in front of his chest. It seemed Sebastian really knew _everything_ about him by now.

"I hear things." The taller boy shrugged. "I think you've already had your share of homophobic shit. Do you want a repeat of that just because Kurt dresses weirdly? He's nothing but a empty flask, nice to look at but without any substance."

"How dare you talk about him like that? You don't even know him, Sebastian. And you're wrong about him. Kurt is the strongest person I ever met. He knows exactly who he is and he doesn't let anything or anyone change him. Whereas I look into the mirror sometimes and don't know who the hell is staring back at me. I will never be as strong and courageous as he is."

Blaine was struck by his own words. He'd never meant to tell anyone, and yet here he was, sharing his deepest fears and all his teenage angst with the person he hated the most.

"Just imagine that I've never been bullied in my whole life." Sebastian held his chin up high, looking down at Blaine in a superior way. He gave a short laugh. "Hell, I used to bully the straight guys! I provoked them, scared them away. They got so terrified that I might come jumping them that they made a wide berth around me in the hallways. No one ever _dared_ teasing me for being gay. This is what being _strong_ is, Blaine. I could teach you a thing or two. You need someone like me to look up to and not your little _sissy_ of a boyfriend."

That was it. Blaine couldn't keep up his composure any longer. Something inside of him snapped. He wouldn't take all this crap from Sebastian any longer.

With an outcry he launched himself at Sebastian and aiming straight for his smirky face, but Sebastian saw it coming and escaped the punch just in time. And fought back. For a moment they were all fists and claws, trying to place a hit and fend the other one off.

Apart from his slender form Sebastian was surprisingly strong, but Blaine was fierce and used to boxing. He hit his opponent hard a few times into his sides and chest where he knew from experience it would hurt, but Sebastian was too good at protecting his face where Blaine so wanted to give him a black eye and a broken nose.

Now Sebastian started an attack and shoved Blaine back until his back hit the copy machine. He managed to get one hand on Blaine's throat and pressed his own body against the smaller boy's to keep him from struggling.

Blaine tried to yank free but Sebastian tightened his grip on him and brought their faces close together. "You wanna hit me, Anderson? You have no idea how turned on I am right now! But oops, maybe you do?" And boy, there was no mistaking the hard-on in Sebastian's pants when he started to move his hips against Blaine's.

"I'm gonna _kill_ _you_," Blaine hissed.

"Good luck with that," Sebastian chuckled. "But first I'm gonna fuck you."

"Oh my!" All of a sudden Tara was standing in the door, her hand still on the doorknob as she was staring at them with wide eyes. "Sorry," she mumbled and hurried out again, closing the door with a thud.

Sebastian released his grip on Blaine and stepped back, still grinning broadly.

Blaine wanted to go after him and this time hit him right. Beat the crap out of him. Kill him.

_Crawling in my skin_

_These wounds they will not heal_

But he found he couldn't move. His legs were shaking and it was all he could do not to fall apart. His hands were gripping the copy machine behind him for support and he tried to breathe. Just breathe. And keep it together.

"See you." Sebastian winked at him and left with his hands in his pockets, whistling as if nothing had even happened.

_Discomfort endlessly has pulled itself upon me_

_Distracting, reacting_

For a while Blaine stayed where he was, motionless. Not really able to progress what had happened. Then he hurried out of the room and into the restroom next door. Standing at the shink he splashed cold water into his face, trying calm down.

He gazed at himself in the mirror, feeling dizzy.

_Against my will I stand beside my own reflection_

_It's haunting how I can't seem to find myself again_

There was a knock at the restroom door and Emily peeked in. "Blaine? Your father wants to talk to you." She gave him a sympathetic smile. "Like, right now."

Blaine nodded and wiped his face with paper towels. "I'll be right there."

_My walls are closing in!_

* * *

><p><strong>I'm overwhelmed by all your response to this story and especially to the last chapter! Thanks for all your encouragements and all your love and excitement for this story! <strong>

**I hope you guys liked this chapter, especially all of you who just want Blaine to explode and kick ass! LOL! He still has a lot of demons to fight! Just wait and see! ;)**

**_Pearl,_ vielen Dank for your thoughtful review! I'm unworthy! And don't worry I already have something in mind for the ND boys to show their regrets in a very silly and funny kind of way but that's still a few chapters away. ;)**

**_StormsInNeverland_ and _WaitingForThisMomentToBeFree, _I just love you guys! Big crushing hugs to you!  
><strong>

**Emylou, you're my one and only soulmatey! I love bouncing ideas with you! Thanks for all your help and support over the past few months! :D Lots of kisses and hugs to you!**

* * *

><p><strong>Songs in this chapter: <strong>

**Linkin Park – Crawling in my skin**

* * *

><p><strong>Next up: <strong>

**Blaine has a serious talk with his father! And asks Kurt to meet him afterwards! It's gonna be a tearful chapter, so I advice you to stock up on tissues!**

* * *

><p><strong>Comments and thoughts and suggestions are always welcome! :D<strong>


	14. Numb

**Numb**

On his way through the office to his father's room Blaine passed the reception where the girls were all gathered around Tara, sticking their heads together and talking in low voices. When he approached they sneaked glances at him with unreadable expressions on their faces. Blaine walked by with his eyes downcast but he felt their stares in his back.

And he suddenly felt like he couldn't come back tomorrow and act like nothing happened. Like nobody knew about Sebastian's forced advances on him, because apparently thanks to Tara everybody _knew_. It was embarrassing. More than that. It was humiliating.

_I'm tired of being what you want me to be_

And he hated Sebastian just the more for it, for assaulting him in his father's office. It seemed that Sebastian didn't care about crossing boundaries. Blaine was pretty sure that Sebastian actually enjoyed this and that it was all just a funny game for him.

_Feeling so faithless_

Blaine had no idea what his father wanted to talk to him about. Was it about what had just happened? Or was it just a coincidence that he wanted to see him right after the incident with Sebastian? Whatever, Blaine had done nothing wrong. He was the victim here. But maybe he was just being paranoid. Maybe his father wanted to talk to him about something else completely.

_Lost under the surface_

Before he knocked at the door with the big sign HOWARD J. ANDERSON on the front he took a deep breath to center himself.

"Come in."

Blaine entered. His father was waiting for him, leaning back in his chair, his hands folded on the desk, his eyes attentive but emotionless, giving nothing away.

"You wanted to see me?"

"Take a seat."

Blaine did and suddenly he felt insecure. He hated being the object of his father's scrutinizing inspection. He always felt like no matter what he did his father would never be proud of him, he would always just see all his flaws and mistakes.

_Don't know what you're expecting of me_

"Is there something you want to tell me, Blaine?" His father's pokerface was intimidating, it was impossible to read him.

_Put under the pressure of walking in your shoes_

"Um, what do you mean?" Blaine crossed his arms tightly across his chest and leaned back in his seat.

Howard Anderson was tapping out a rhythm with a pen on his desk. "Apparently Tara just walked in on you making out with Simon Smythe's son in the copy room."

For a second Blaine just gaped at his father in bafflement, but then he exploded. "We weren't _making out_!"

"I have the feeling that all this is just a joke to you, Blaine," Howard continued, shaking his head slowly and sounding disappointed. "I'll have you know that to me it's no fun at all to deal with a hysterical secretary who's shell-shocked about eyewitnessing my son's make-out session. What were you even thinking inviting your boyfriend into the office?"

_Every step that I take is another mistake to you_

Blaine felt his face heating up and he clenched his hands into fists. "I didn't invite him over and he's not my boyfriend! And I don't think it's funny to have to defend myself for something I didn't do!"

"Are you accusing Tara of lying?" Howard asked in a calm voice which drove Blaine up the wall.

"No, but obviously she's got the facts all wrong! What exactly did she tell you anyway? And why on earth does she think Sebastian's my boyfriend?"

"According to Tara Sebastian Smythe left shortly after she'd caught you both _in the act_," Howard explained, "and he stopped at her desk and apologized to her for not being able to keep his hands of his boyfriend."

Blaine let out a short laugh and shook his head.

"You know very well that I don't tolerate lying, Blaine. It's already bad enough that you're…" His father made a vague move with his hand.

"What, Dad?" Blaine asked all business-like, swallowing the hurt down. "You mean gay? It's already bad enough that I'm gay?"

Howard raised a brow at him. "Suspended, Blaine. I meant to say it's bad enough that you have been suspended from school for attacking another student. I advise you to work on your temper."

"Sorry," Blaine mumbled, looking down and twisting his cold hands.

His father shifted his glasses and gave his son another chance. "Okay, now, do you want to tell me what just happened in the copy room?"

Blaine drew a breath to steady himself. "Just to make things clear, I did _not_ invite Sebastian Smythe over and he is _not_ my boyfriend! We're not even friends but he just doesn't stop coming after me. I guess he feels offended because I'm not interested in him."

His father considered this but said nothing. Which for some reason made Blaine feel like he needed to keep talking.

"At first it was just annoying text messages and e-mails and now he's coming here of all places to make _advances_ on me. He kept on making all these gross comments and insulting Kurt – who you know _is_ my boyfriend. And then we got into a fight and he trapped me against the copy machine and… and _moved_ against me!"

Blaine closed his eyes and shook his head to get rid of the image. "I was just _defending_ myself when Tara came in. And now I fear that he's _stalking_ me and I… I just don't know what to do about him…"

Blaine stopped and left the plea for help hanging in the air.

How often did he tell himself over and over again that he could handle this on his own?

It was time to realize that Sebastian was anything but harmless.

He needed help. If only his father would talk to Sebastian's parents and tell them to keep Sebastian on the leash.

"Are you saying that Sebastian Smythe is harassing you?" His father's voice was serious. "In a sexual way?"

Blaine chewed the insides of his cheeks and wrung his hands, staring down at them. He realized that it was true. This was his situation. He _was_ being sexually harassed by Sebastian.

Everybody knew that sexual harassment began with words and ended with rape. By now Blaine believed that Sebastian was capable of _anything_. He didn't know what to do anymore, he had lost control over this. But he couldn't say it aloud.

Instead he closed his eyes and nodded in confirmation while his face burned with shame about admitting that he was weak and couldn't handle this on his own.

But now his dad would make it okay again, just like he always had when Blaine had needed him. His father had always stepped up for him and made things right again. He could always count on his father when things got tough.

Like that time in kindergarten when that big boy had been continually shoving him off his chair. Or in middle school when the gym teacher had purposely overlooked him and left him sitting on the bench. And then there had been the incident at the Sadie Hawkins Dance. After Blaine had gotten out of hospital his father had arranged for him to transfer to Dalton. His father has always done anything to make sure he was safe.

Howard Anderson may not have talked much to his son for the past two years – ever since Blaine was officially out – but it didn't mean he didn't care about him.

And now his father would help him deal with Sebastian Smythe.

"Do you know who Sebastian Smythe's father is?"

_Caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow_

Blaine opened his eyes, snapping back to reality. His whole body went cold when he slowly shook his head no.

"Simon Smythe is a very rich and influential man," his father explained to him calmly. "Someone you don't want to be your enemy. If he wants something you better make sure he gets it. You see, I don't want you to mess around with his son!"

"I'm not messing with his son!" Blaine cried out. "Sebastian's messing with me!"

"Whatever differences you have with his son you better solve them quickly. I don't want any trouble with his father. You hear me?"

Blaine only stared at him.

_I've become so numb _

"Do you hear me?"

_I can't feel you there_

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Now go home, Blaine. I don't have any use for you here today. Or at all. In fact I think you should stay clear of my office for a while. God knows I'll have to pay for therapy sessions for Tara." Howard shuffled some papers on his desk and turned back to his work. "We'll talk later tonight about what to do with the remaining time of your suspension. Don't even think I'll let you have a lazy time at home. Are we clear?"

_I've become so tired, so much more aware_

"Yes, sir," Blaine repeated.

A numb feeling spread inside of him. He got up slowly and turned to the door, his hand already on the doorknob when his father spoke up again. "By the way, I don't want to hear you talk so carelessly about sexual harassment ever again. That is a very serious matter and it involves a man going after a woman or a child. The differences you have with this boy don't count as such. You better not voice such ridiculous accusations again."

Blaine left without another word. He grabbed his coat and satchel and closed the office door behind him.

_I'm becoming this, all I want to do_

_Is be more like me and be less like you_

Blaine got into his car, picked up Mike's hat from the passenger seat and turned on the ignition. He left the parking lot but didn't know where to go. He didn't want to drive home yet so he simply drove around town without destination.

The next song of the CD started and he cracked up the volume.

_Can't you see that you're smothering me_

_Holding too tightly, afraid to lose control?_

_Cause everything that you thought I would be_

_Has fallen apart right in front of you_

Family was supposed to be your rock. Although he was an only child Blaine had never felt very close to his parents, but when he had needed them, they'd always been there. He could count on them to help him and protect him. Now it seemed he'd lost this privilege. He was all by himself.

_Every second I waste is more than I can take_

He wasn't gonna cry over this. No way!

_And I know I may end up failing too_

They never talked about it, about Blaine being gay. Never.

_But I know you were just like me with someone disappointed in you_

Not even after the Sadie Hawkins incident and his hospital time. The official story of why the guys had beat him up was that they had been jealous because Blaine was a rich kid compared to the kids whose parents were unemployed or drug addicts. It had been a bad idea to have the boy go to a public school in the first place.

Not once the word gay would be spoken out loud.

Not once had his parents told him that they were disgusted by the idea of him being gay.

Not once had they told him that they were okay with it and accepted him for who he was.

Maybe they just didn't care about him at all. Right now he could be dead for all they cared.

_I've become so numb _

The worst part was that his father was practically telling him he couldn't say no to Sebastian. Sebastian could do whatever he wanted and Blaine had better not piss him off. Because if Sebastian told his daddy that Blaine refused to be his toy boy and Daddy Smythe reported back to his father, Blaine would be in serious trouble.

_I can't feel you there_

"Fuck you," Blaine said under his breath, but then repeated it louder, "Fuck you, Dad!"

Suddenly he knew the direction he needed to go. He needed to see Kurt. But he didn't want to be pacing in Kurt's room, feeling trapped and locked up. He needed to keep moving. At the next red light Blaine picked up his phone and wrote a quick text message to his boyfriend.

_Need to see you. Can I pick you up for a drive? – B _

Just a few seconds later his phone buzzed with a response.

_Totally! Can't wait to finally see you again! Hurry up, my love! – K _

When Blaine stopped in Kurt's driveway ten minutes later his boyfriend came dashing out of the door immediately, so Blaine didn't even bother cutting off the engin.

He did however quickly change CDs. No way would he make Kurt listen to aggressive hard rock.

Kurt hopped right into Blaine's car all cheerful and excited.

"Oh, my God, I'm so glad you came! If you hadn't come for my rescue I would've had to help Finn doing his European History homework. Can you believe he doesn't know a thing about the French revolution? I had to explain to him that Marie Antoinette used to be the Paris Hilton of her time and he still didn't get it! It's hopeless! Hopeless!"

Blaine didn't say anything, he just hummed in response. He couldn't look at Kurt because all of a sudden he felt like he was going to cry any minute. He did his best to hide his crazy emotions, he just needed some minutes in Kurt's presence to forget about all the shit going on.

He shifted into gear and pulled out of the driveway onto the street and concentrated on the traffic. He kept his eyes straight on the street and did his best to keep up a straight face.

"Is that Mike Chang's hat?"

Blaine tapped the rim of the hat in confirmation, smiling to himself. Of course the first thing Kurt would notice about him was his outfit.

"Did he give it to you when you guys met up today? I thought only girls swapped clothes," Kurt made that adorable closed-mouth giggle sound.

Blaine bit his tongue to keep himself from making a comment. He really wasn't in the mood to launch into a conversation about gender roles right now.

"Well, it definitely looks good on you," Kurt went on. "Oh, you won't believe me when I tell you what Rachel's been wearing to school today! I mean her outfit choices are always risky, but oh my God, today she decided to go all pink and..."

Kurt's chattering soothed him although he wasn't paying much attention. It was good to know that at least in Kurt's life the worst thing to get upset about was Rachel's outfit choices. Kurt deserved a rest from all the shit he's had going on in his life so far. Just the more reason for Blaine not to tell him anything about how shitty he felt. Especially when his father's words kept repeating in his head.

_I have the feeling that all this is just a joke to you._

_Do you know who Sebastian Smythe's father is?_

_You better not voice such ridiculous accusations again._

_I don't have any use for you here today. Or at all._

"Where are we going?" Kurt asked after a while. "Anywhere in particular?"

Blaine just gave a one-sided shrug. He had no specific direction in mind. Just cruising through town with Kurt to get calm again, to get rid of the thoughts in his head.

"Did you have a bad day?" Kurt let his fingers run lightly over the knuckles of Blaine's hand that rested on the steering stick.

Blaine just tilted his head with a sigh. If he started talking about it he would only drown Kurt in his misery and that was the least thing he wanted to do.

So he distracted himself by fumbling with the music. The CD he'd put on was a mix of happy-go-lucky pop songs that got on his nerves today, so he kept skipping songs until something came up that was bearable.

Kurt flipped down the vanity mirror and checked his face. He flipped the mirror back up and stared out of the window.

And stayed silent.

Blaine didn't notice because he was still shifting thoughts in his head, trying to figure out what to do, how to go on from this point, how to deal with the situation. What exactly was the situation?

Maybe Sebastian would lose interest after all. He had to. Eventually.

Blaine tried to think of ways to talk about all of this to Kurt. Like, all casually. _Guess who showed up at my dad's office today and felt me up? Almost ravished me on the copy machine? And my dad was all like, hey, you can fuck whoever you want but not in front of my secretary!_

He chuckled to himself over this. No way. He couldn't tell Kurt that Sebastian was still bothering him.

Kurt would feel the need to fight this battle for him, to confront Sebastian, and maybe get hurt along the way. He wouldn't give Sebastian the chance to hurt his boyfriend. This was his own fight and he would do anything to keep Kurt out of the fire line.

After all, he just couldn't tell Kurt about the gross way Sebastian had approached him.

About Sebastian trying to kiss him and instead licking his face!

About his hands on his butt!

About his hard-on brushing his hips!

About _everything_!

_I can't tell him, I can't tell him, I can't!_

Blaine drove past a Burger King and turned at the next stop to get in line of the drive-thru. He'd never been to a drive-thru at a fastfood restaurant with Kurt before. But this was what couples did, right? And the least he could do for Kurt was getting him something to eat.

He stopped at the speaker, scrolled his window down and turned to Kurt. "Are you hungry?" Blaine noticed by the scratch in his voice that these were the first words he'd spoken to Kurt since he'd picked him up. Geez, had he been so deep in thought all of the time? He was such a bad boyfriend. He looked over to his boyfriend with an apologetic smile and cleared his throat.

"I'm not hungry," Kurt answered with a little shrug.

"Oh. Something to drink then? A milkshake?"

Kurt made an uncertain nod.

Blaine turned to the speaker to pass his order. "One strawberry milkshake, please."

"You don't want anything?" Kurt asked and Blaine shook his head no.

He drove on to the window to pay for the shake and passed the icy cup over to his boyfriend.

"Thanks." Kurt sucked the straw once and then just held the cup it in his hands.

Blaine drove back to Kurt's house to get him home. They weren't talking, just listening to the music and enjoying each other's company. Kurt's presence was always soothing for Blaine, just having him near calmed him down and gave him a feeling of safety and strength.

They'd been driving around for one and a half hours and it had already gotten dark when Blaine turned into the driveway of Kurt's house and parked. He leaned back in his seat, eyes on the dim green glow of the dashboard. The little digital clock showed that it was past eight. Blaine sighed deeply, he didn't want to drive home yet.

Luckily Kurt didn't seem to be in a hurry either. He kept shifting the cold cup of milkshake between his hands, staring down at it.

Blaine kept himself busy by changing CDs and skipping through them on the search of a song that wasn't annoying.

_Feeling so faithless_

"Blaine?"

Blaine made a hmm-sound in acknowledgement.

_Lost under the surface_

"We're parking for half an hour in my driveway now and in case you haven't noticed," Kurt tilted his head towards the house, "my dad is patroling the window every five minutes to check that we're not being _inappropriate_."

Kurt chuckled but it was no cheerful sound.

"Sorry," Blaine replied at a loss for something else to say.

"Blaine, what's wrong?" Kurt asked carefully.

_Caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow_

Blaine shook his head slowly and let his finger run along the bottom arc of the steering wheel.

_I've become so numb _

"Please, tell me."

There was a tremble in Kurt's voice that made Blaine finally look up, surprised to see tears burning in Kurt's eyes.

"Kurt..." Blaine felt his own throat tighten. Did he miss something? Did he do something wrong? Why was Kurt about to cry all of a sudden?

After a slight hesitation and with a timid smile on his lips, Kurt added, "Are you breaking up with me?"

_And I know I may end up failing too!_

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><p><strong>Songs in this chapter: <strong>

**Linkin Park – Numb**

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><p><strong>I'm blown away by all your response for the last chapter! Thanks a million! I love you guys!<strong>

**Just in case anyone is wondering or expecting this story to go in a certain direction, I have you know that this will NOT be a suicide or rape story! I hope some of you aren't disappointed now. But I will never make Blaine THAT desperate or Sebastian THAT kind of vicious. **

**Next chapter will follow up in a few days! **


	15. Less Than Perfect

**Less Than Perfect**

"Are you breaking up with me?"

Blaine looked up with an expression of pure shock. "What? No! Kurt, no! What on earth makes you think that?"

It pained him to see how relieved Kurt looked and another thought struck Blaine: Had Kurt been sitting in the car all the while thinking the reason Blaine had picked him up was to break up with him?

"It's just…" Kurt started and there was a desperate glint in his eyes, "we haven't seen each other for two days and you wouldn't pick up the phone when I tried to call you and, yeah, you texted me that you were tired and exhausted from working at your dad's, but when I texted you today that I missed you you never texted me back. So I figured you probably don't, you know, miss me, too."

And before Blaine had a chance to cut in Kurt was talking in high speed, the words tumbling out of his mouth way too fast as he finally aired all his worries and insecurities.

"And then you ask me to meet you today and we're driving around town for about two hours and you don't even talk to me or _look_ at me! And I know there's something going on in your head, something you wanna tell me and I thought that you probably wanna break up with me but you don't know how. And I would totally understand, because there's _tons_ of reasons for you to break up with me and…"

"No! What are you talking about?" Blaine cut the music off and turned in his seat to fully face his boyfriend. "I can't even think of ONE reason to break up with you!"

"Well, for one I would get it if you were sick of me getting you into trouble all of the time," Kurt elaborated with a slight shrug. "Like, everything that happened with Rick? Your suspension? And the thing with your car? Dad told me that he came to change your tire because Rick sliced it up? You didn't talk to me at all since that happened and I'm sitting at home feeling guilty and wondering if you're mad at me because I kissed you in the hallway in front of Rick and I don't even blame you. It's my fault that you have to take all this crap from guys like Rick and, you know, McKinley _is_ crazy and I know you're starting to regret having transferred."

"No, Kurt, that's not true..." Blaine kept shaking his head.

"I mean just look at you," Kurt continued. "You were a bright star at Dalton and now at McKinley you have to constantly fight this stupid and tiring battle. I'm used to it, but you shouldn't have to deal with all this. I can understand that you would start thinking about going back to Dalton. And on top of all that there's the situation with your family and how you're always alone at home because they were used to have you boarding. And then I thought that maybe you wanted to be with someone who's less complicated than I am because I know I'm a mess and it's not easy to be with me and keep up with all my quirks! And I feel like I'm rambling and I'm sorry," Kurt finished and sagged back into his seat, emotionally exhausted.

"I'm not breaking up with you! Not ever! You hear me?" Blaine reached over to take Kurt's hands for emphasis and was shocked at how cold they were from holding that silly milkshake all of the time. Blaine squeezed them tight in his own to warm them up.

"You're _not_ a complicated mess." Blaine's lips curled up into a loving smile. "You never lose focus, you know exactly who you are and I admire that. Yeah, of course I miss Dalton sometimes. It was easier there, but I don't want safe and easy. I want something that's _real_! If I had wanted easy I would have settled for being straight and continued to date Rachel."

"Believe me, dating Rachel is anything but easy," Kurt chuckled and stroked his thumb over the back of Blaine's hand. "So is pretending to be someone you're not."

"I know." Blaine sighed and tightened the pressure on Kurt's hands. "I just want you to know that I want to be with you, Kurt, no matter what. And if you're brave enough to return to McKinley then I can be brave enough to follow."

Kurt looked at him with loving eyes and his adorable toothless smile.

"I just don't want you to get hurt, Blaine. And I know you're miserable. I can see it," Kurt said gently, allowing no room for denial. "Please tell me if there's anything I can do for you."

"Kurt, you don't need to _do_ anything. Your whole existence makes me happy already." Blaine swallowed hard to keep the tears down that threatened to overwhelm him. "Right now you are the only thing that's good in my life!"

This comment was meant to brighten Kurt up, instead his boyfriend looked even sadder. "I'm sorry to hear that." Kurt's voice was all sincere and he squeezed Blaine's hands. "Blaine, you should have a hundred things in your life that make you happy."

"I'm sorry," Blaine bit down on his lips and rested his eyes on their linked hands.

"There's no need to say you're sorry, love." Kurt gave his hands a little shake. "Please tell me what's going on. Whatever it is, you don't have to deal with it on your own. I want to be by your side."

"It's just... I..." Blaine wished he could tell him. About Sebastian. About his father's hurtful words. About everything. He knew in his heart that of course he would tell him eventually. Because if he couldn't share his worries with Kurt then there was no one else. He didn't want to keep secrets from Kurt and he knew that he was hurting him by not confiding in him, but he simply didn't know how to put it into words right now.

He couldn't. Not yet.

He was ashamed and angry and exhausted. So damn exhausted.

And just like that Blaine started weeping.

He squeezed his eyes shut and slumped into his seat. A heartwrenching sob escaped his lips and a flood of tears followed.

Without a word Kurt reached over and gently pulled him into his arms and let him cry without asking questions. Blaine leaned down and buried his face into Kurt's chest, clutching at his arms in his need to just be held. A wave of relief and gratitude washed over him when he realized that he felt safe to cry out all his pain and frustration and hurt in Kurt's embrace.

Kurt was cradling Blaine to his chest, rocking him gently and murmuring sweet words into his hair. At one point when Blaine's shoulders were shaking violently with heavy sobs, Kurt began to sing softly to him.

"Pretty pretty please  
>Don't you ever ever feel<br>Like you're less than perfect

Pretty pretty please  
>If you ever ever feel<br>Like you're nothing  
>You are perfect to me."<p>

It was their song for each other. Blaine knew that he was anything but perfect. But Kurt always made him feel like he was close. Sometimes Blaine wished he could look into that beautiful head of his boyfriend and see what Kurt saw in him. How could he be so lucky? How did he deserve to be loved so unconditionally by this wonderful boy? And how stupid was he to make Kurt feel like he didn't love him back just as much if not more?

He wanted to tell him a million I love you's right there and then but his voice was still busy crying and sobbing so he settled for expressing his love and gratitude by clinging to his boyfriend even more forceful like he never wanted to let go of him.

After a while Blaine calmed down, although tears were still escaping out of closed eyelids as Kurt held him, stroked his hair. His ear was pressed against Kurt's chest and he tried to concentrate on listening to his boyfriend's heartbeat as he wept silently.

"Better now?" Kurt asked softly when the sobbing had lessened. Slowly Blaine let go and sat up straight in his seat, he nodded and accepted the Kleenex his boyfriend was offering him. "Thanks."

He wiped the tears off his face and blew his nose. He felt like a mess and he just wanted to crawl back into Kurt's arms forever. In fact he really wanted to kiss him now, but Kurt deserved a proper kiss and not a gross snotty one.

"Blaine, honey." Kurt kept his hand on Blaine's knee, not breaking physical contact for one second. "It pains me to know that there's something that causes you so much misery. It's okay if you can't talk about whatever is bothering you yet. I just hope you _know_ that you can tell me _anything_. I will never judge you, whatever it is you're dealing with. I _love_ you, no matter what. And I'd be happy to be able to give you at least a little bit of comfort."

"I know, Kurt. I love you, too. _So much!_" Blaine wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to start bawling in front of you."

"Blaine Anderson!" Kurt stuck his finger in Blaine's face. "Don't you _ever_ apologize for crying in front of me again, you hear me?"

Blaine nodded with a smile and fresh tears in his eyes. "Yes, sir."

"Besides, once I receive an answer from NYADA you might have to return the favor and hold me while I bawl my eyes out," Kurt said with a little laugh to brighten up the mood.

"Those are gonna be happy tears because you'll make it," Blaine said assuringly and leaned his cheek against the headrest of his seat.

"I hope so," Kurt gave him a wry smile. "But I doubt it."

"I'm sorry I made you feel like I didn't miss you," Blaine murmured with a hoarse voice. "The truth is I've missed you like crazy the past days and I hated myself for falling asleep at our usual phone time."

"I'm just glad you came to see me tonight." Kurt shifted closer and reached out with one finger to gently catch a tear off Blaine's eyelashes. "And you know I'll be there whenever you're ready to talk, okay?" He closed his palm around the teardrop and held it to his heart.

"Please don't think I don't _want_ to tell you or that I don't trust you." Blaine tried to swallow a lump in his throat. "Because I do. Just... please give me a few days to figure everything out, okay? I just need some time to think about everything."

"Okay." Kurt nodded all serious. "As long as you don't turn away from me."

Blaine bit down on his lips again. "I don't deserve you, Kurt."

"Honey, you only deserve the best! That's why you got me." Kurt winked at him.

Blaine's tearstained face lit up with a beautiful smile. "So true."

"Now that that's settled, let's get inside. You must be hungry."

"Um, I think I'd better get home..."

Kurt reached over for the car keys and took them away before Blaine could stop him. "You're crazy if you think I'm letting you drive like this." Kurt got out of the car and walked around it to open the driver's door. "Now, don't make me drag you out," he threatened with a smile.

Blaine sighed heavily before he allowed Kurt to gently but determined shove him towards the house. He wasn't eager to be meeting Kurt's family just now when everyone would see that he'd been crying. But then again he'd been through a lot more embarrassing situations today already, so he didn't really care about curious stares.

Still, Blaine kept his eyes downcast when he followed his boyfriend into the kitchen where the Hummel-Hudson family was gathered around the dining table having just finished dinner.

"Hi everybody," Kurt said, his hand firmly intertwined with his boyfriend's. Blaine just nodded in greeting, not trusting his voice yet. Of course he noticed the glances Kurt shared with his family, saying without words, "Please don't ask!"

"I brought Blaine. I hope you don't mind?"

"Of course not!" Carole exclaimed cheerfully and rose to her feet at once. "Are you boys hungry? There's enough chicken-broccoli casserole left for you two." Carole kindly overlooked Blaine's red face and puffy eyes but she acted all motherly by stroking Blaine's arm fondly and guiding him to the table. "Please, sit down, sweetie."

"Thank you, Carole." Kurt went to heat the food up and prepare a large helping for his boyfriend.

In the meantime Finn leaned back in his chair and eyed them up curiously, frowning when he noticed the obvious condition Blaine was in. His stare was a little annoying but to his credit he didn't remark on it. Instead the lanky boy got up and went over to the fridge to get a diet coke out. "Want one, Blaine?" He threw the can to Blaine and the smaller boy caught it with one hand. "Thanks."

"Finn, don't throw cans around!" Kurt scolded his brother. "You could have hit Blaine's head with it!"

"Duh! Blaine's able to catch a can. He's got great reflexes!" Finn countered and sat back down with a can of coke for himself.

"I know that he's got great reflexes!" Kurt replied and then for whatever reason suddenly blushed and cleared his throat before adding, "Didn't your mother teach you not to throw things in the house?"

"She did," Carole chimed in and shared an amused grin with her husband. Burt chuckled. "Kurt, stop getting upset about your brother's bad manners. It's not worth the energy."

"I just don't want him to throw stuff at Blaine! I don't want my boyfriend to run around with a big bulge!"

Blaine choked on his diet coke and sputtered over the table. Burt reached out to pat his back.

"On his head!" Kurt added quickly. Finn snickered mischievously and received a slap on the back of his head from his brother.

"Ouch! Kurt hit me!"

"I accidentally brushed past him," Kurt replied all innocently and placed a hot plate in front of his boyfriend. Upon seeing the food in front of him Blaine realized how incredible hungry he was. "Wow, this is _really_ good!" he complimented the chef after his first bite.

"Thank you, my dear." Carole beamed at him.

Kurt sat down next to Blaine with his own plate of food. "Is it okay if Blaine stays for the night? On the couch?" Kurt asked, looking at Carole and his father.

"Of course it's okay," Carole replied immediately and turned to Blaine, "You're most welcome."

"Uhm, thank you, but I really can't stay overnight," Blaine wiped his mouth with his table napkin. "I have so many chores waiting for me at home. I have to feed my cat, clean up the litter box and then I need to get the dish washer running and..."

"I think your mom can handle that by herself for one night," Carole reached over to pat Blaine's arm reassuringly.

"No, I really have to be home tonight." Blaine shook his head in frustration. "The thing is that my dad wants to talk to me about what I should do for the next few days of my suspension."

"Aren't you working in his office?" Kurt looked up in surprise.

"Well, I was, but my dad, uhm, he kind of threw me out today."

Kurt raised his eyebrows questioningly but didn't ask. After their talk in the car he wouldn't pressure his boyfriend into telling him what was bothering him. Especially not in front of his family.

He had forgotten about Finn's big mouth, though.

"Your dad _fired_ you?" Finn almost shouted at Blaine. "What did you do?"

"The usual," Blaine shrugged. "I screwed up."

"Yeah, but what did you _do_?" Finn repeated himself and then winced at the kick he'd received from Kurt's boot under the table. "Ouch! Kurt kicked me!"

"Blaine, you're staying for the night!" Kurt insisted and turned to his father. "Dad, I really think Blaine should stay."

"You better listen to Kurt, he's usually right," Burt said with a wink at Blaine. "I agree that it's already too late for you to drive home. Also it sounds like you had a bad day. Get some rest, buddy. I can call your parents if you want me to," Burt offered.

Blaine puckered his lips. "The thing is my dad won't be home for at least two more hours..."

Carole raised her eyebrows and glanced at the clock on the wall.

Blaine cleared his throat. "But I could call his office I guess." Blaine got his phone out and left the table. "If you please excuse me? I'll make the call in the next room."

He slipped away into the living room before he dialed the number. His head was busy figuring out what he should say. He couldn't tell his father that he wanted to have a sleepover at his boyfriend's house. His father simply wouldn't let him. He had to have a really good excuse.

"Anderson speaking."

"Hi Dad, it's me." Blaine closed his eyes. "Uhm, sorry to bother you, I know you're busy. The thing is I have a problem with my car? And I'd better not drive home tonight. So I thought I'd stay at Kurt's... But I'll be home tomorrow and we can talk about... about whatever you wanted to talk with me then..."

"What's wrong with your car?" His father sounded tired and annoyed which was always a bad combination. "Don't tell me it's going to need an expensive repair!"

"Uhm, no, I don't think so," Blaine stammered. "I just don't want to drive home with it because it's, um, kind of bucking all the time when I'm driving? I don't want to break down halfway and... I just thought I'd better stay over at Kurt's..."

"Who's Kurt?"

For a moment Blaine was too baffled to speak. He wanted to laugh, he wanted to cry, he wanted to scream at his father. _Who's Kurt?_ _Are you freaking kidding me? _

Blaine he took a deep breath and answered as calmly as possible. "Kurt's my boyfriend, remember?"

"I thought his name was Kyle? Or was that another boyfriend of yours?"

"No, I don't know anyone named Kyle," Blaine's voice carried an edge of unmistakable annoyance. "And you know very well that Kurt's my first boyfriend _ever!_ So, are you okay with me staying in Lima for the night?"

"No, actually I'm not okay with you staying at some guy's house! Not after what happened today! How old is this guy anyway?"

"Dad!" Blaine cried out in frustration. "Kurt's seventeen! It's his parents house and I'll be sleeping on the couch! What do you think I'll be doing?"

"Well, I'm not sure if I can trust your word anymore, Blaine!"

"I didn't lie to you when I told you about the crap going on with Sebastian, Dad! Why don't you believe me?" Blaine was pacing the living room and just turned around the couch for the hundredth time when he stopped dead in his tracks, because he just noticed Burt Hummel standing in the doorway. For how long exactly had he been standing there?

Burt came over and motioned for Blaine to hand over his phone.

"Dad, wait a second, uhm, Mr Hummel wants to talk to you."

Burt took the phone and smiled at Blaine encouragingly. Blaine wrung his hands as he listened to Burt talking to his father.

"Mr Anderson? Hi there. My name's Burt Hummel. I'm Kurt's father. Just wanna tell you that I'm keeping Blaine here for the night. It's his car. There seems to be something wrong with the rear-wheel and I want to have a look at it first thing in the morning. I'm a mechanic, in case you don't know… No, it's no trouble at all! We love to have Blaine around, my wife's just getting the couch ready for him... No, don't worry about any costs. I'm not gonna charge anything for my son's boyfriend. Blaine's safety is my rest at night… Alright then. Nice to talk to you, too. Goodbye."

Burt ended the call and gave the phone back to Blaine. "Your dad says you can stay. He wants you to call him tomorrow morning again, though."

"Thanks, Burt," Blaine said meekly and pocketed his phone. He was stunned that Burt had just lied for him since they both knew very well that there was nothing wrong with his car. "I really appreciate..."

"Don't mention it, kiddo," Burt waved it off. "Kurt's already getting a blanket for you. If you need anything just let me know. And, you know, if you need to talk about whatever, you can come to me anytime."

"I know, thank you." Blaine folded his arms around his middle. He was grateful that Burt didn't let on how much he had or hadn't heard but still he had the feeling that Kurt's father could sketch out his own not so beautiful picture of Blaine's family situation by now.

"Hey there!" Kurt appeared in the door, his arms loaded with blankets and pillows, a look of anticipation and dread on his face. "Are you staying?"

"Yeah, my dad said it was okay," Blaine confirmed and smiled broadly when Kurt let out a little squeal of joy.

"You've got school tomorrow, young man," Burt reminded his son. "Meaning you won't stay up late just because your boyfriend's sleeping on the couch."

"I know, I know," Kurt hurried to say and busied himself getting the couch comfortable.

"Please don't make such an effort for me, baby," Blaine tried to stop him but Kurt continued fussing with blankets and sheets and pillows, turning the old-fashioned couch into a lovely place to sleep.

"No trouble at all, love."

Finn joined them in the living room and they were allowed to watch a fun movie together before they had to get into their own bedrooms. Blaine appreciated the distraction. All through the movie Kurt sat next to him, holding his hand more tightly than usual and resting his head against his shoulder. They laughed at silly lines together and when it was time to turn the TV off, Kurt kissed him goodnight and left the room along with Finn.

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><p><strong>Next chapter: <strong>

Blaine can't sleep. Especially not when Finn invades the kitchen for a midnight snack and Kurt visits him in the middle of the night to snuggle on the couch together.

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><p>Hi everyone! I'm still overwhelmed by the response to this story! You guys are amazing! I love all your feedback!<p>

Don't worry, I'm not abandoning my other stories over this one! I'll update No Regrets at the end of the week and I'm trying to figure out how to go on with The Trouble With Tony And Maria.

Comments and ideas are always most welcome! :D


	16. Midnight Snack

**Midnight Snack**

Blaine lay awake on the couch in the living room of the Hummel-Hudson family and listened to the sounds of the sleeping house. There was a clock ticking loudly in the nearby kitchen. An electric buzz came from the stand-by TV. The wind was rapping against the windows outside.

He was thinking about his cat. Did his mother feed Tiffany? Or had the cat been locked into the pantry again without anyone noticing? Blaine even tried to call his mother to check in on her, but apparently she wasn't home yet and she wouldn't answer her cell. He left a message in her voice mail and kept his phone close-by.

With a sigh he tucked the blanket closer around himself and wondered if Kurt was already asleep or if his boyfriend was having trouble sleeping as well. Maybe Kurt was still up, wondering what it was that was bothering Blaine. He hated himself for making Kurt worry about him, but still he wasn't ready to tell his boyfriend about what was going on. He tried to figure out why it was that he couldn't tell Kurt. After all, none of this mess was his fault and Kurt would totally support him and help him stand up against Sebastian.

Somehow Blaine knew the reason why he didn't want to tell Kurt about this was because he didn't want to be weak in front of Kurt. Yeah, it was silly and stupid, especially considering that they prided themselves in being equals in their relationship. Still, Blaine realized that he wanted the part of the protector, he wanted to keep Kurt out of harm's way. It didn't matter that Kurt was strong, way stronger than he was. Let's face some facts, Blaine would never be able to go back to the school where he used to be tormented every day.

Now that Kurt knew something was off, Blaine felt like he was betraying him by not telling him and he didn't want to lose Kurt's trust. For a while he debated with himself about sneaking upstairs into Kurt's room and getting everything off his chest. More than anything he wanted to be in Kurt's arms right now.

However, he wouldn't betray Burt's trust by breaking the house rules. Kurt had already gotten into trouble all those months ago when Blaine had slept in his bed after getting wasted at Rachel's party. He didn't want Kurt to get into trouble on his behalf again.

So Blaine distracted himself with all the other thousand worries that circled through his head as well, and kept him awake. He'd almost drifted off to sleep around eleven o'clock when he received a call. Startled Blaine checked the caller ID and saw that it was their house phone. "Hey there," he answered quietly with a wary voice, not sure if this was his father or his mother.

"Blaine! Where are you?" Elaine Anderson sounded angry but there was something else in her voice. Fear? Could it be that she was worried?

"I'm sleeping at Kurt's," Blaine explained. "My car broke down today. I talked to dad about it and he said it was alright that I stayed in Lima for the night."

"Why didn't you tell me?" She scowlded him. "It's not fun to come home and look around for you just to realize that you're not here! I was worried sick about you!"

"I tried to call you." Blaine replied, a little taken aback by her intense concern. The truth was that he'd thought she wouldn't even notice his absence. After he'd been at Dalton for the past two years she must be used to coming into an empty house. "And I left you a voice mail."

"Shit." Elaine cursed under her breath and Blaine listened to his mother who was apparently rummaging in her purse. "There you go. I forgot to charge my cell. You still could have called my office, you know?"

"Well, I thought maybe dad told you already."

"As if your father told me anything," his mother huffed. "Alright, let's forget about it. But don't do this to me again, ever! You hear me? You have no idea what's running through my head when you're not home!"

"Like what?" Blaine couldn't help but mock her. "Oh no, where's Blaine? Who's gonna clean the toilet now? Who's gonna take the trash out?"

"Don't you dare make fun of me," she replied and there was something in her voice that made Blaine listen up. "I have enough going on without constantly worrying about you, Blainers."

"Mom?" Blaine asked softly. "Are you crying?"

"Shit," Elaine cursed again and this time there was an audible sniff that told Blaine that his mother was indeed losing it. "You have no idea, Blaine. Every day I think of what happened at that cursed Sadie Hawkins Dance. Every freaking day! And now that you go to this goddamn public school you think I don't worry about you?"

"Mom..." Blaine didn't know what to say.

"It was your own decision! I didn't want you to leave Dalton. You were safe there! And now I'm coming home and you're not here and the first thing that comes to my mind is that something awful happened to you!"

"I'm alright, nothing happened. I'm doing okay at McKinley. Please stop crying, Mom." His own voice started to quaver. "You don't need to worry about me."

"I'm... I'm not crying," she replied softly and sniffed again. "I just sometimes wish things were easier, you know?"

"What do you mean?" Blaine asked warily.

"Just... everything," Elaine sighed again. "I'd better get to bed now. I have a hell of a headache. Where are you sleeping, Blainers? Do they have a nice guest room?"

"No, I'm on the couch."

"Oh, alright. Are you okay on the couch?"

"I'm super comfortable. Kurt gave me about a dozen pillows and two extra blankets. I'm fine, Mom, really."

"Okay. Goodnight, Blainers. Oh, and let me know if you need money for your car, okay?"

"Thanks, Mom. Goodnight. Don't forget to feed Tiffy!"

"As if Tiffy would let me forget! She's already dancing around my legs." His mother laughed softly before she hung up and a warm feeling spread inside of him. He was reminded of how much he loved his mother. Unfortunately it was only rare moments like this one that he felt she truly loved him, too, no matter what. Although it didn't always feel that way she truly cared about him. He repeated the conversation with his mother in his head and in a twisted way it made him happy that she had been scared to death about the possibility that he'd got hurt.

* * *

><p>It was around midnight – Blaine checked his watch – when he heard someone coming down the stairs quietly on socks. Blaine strained his ears, wanting to find out who it was, hoping it was Kurt. He sensed that the person was coming into the living room and stopped just behind the couch.<p>

"Dude, you awake?"

It was Finn. Blaine tried not to be disappointed. He reached for the lamp on the couchtable and switched on the light. "Yeah, what can I do for you?" He sat up and looked at Finn, blinking and rubbing his eyes.

Finn pointed with his thumb next door. "I'm heading to the kitchen to get a snack. You want anything?"

"No, I'm good."

"You sure? We have some amazing peanut butter."

Blaine considered this and then threw the blanket off of him. "Coming." He joined Finn in the kitchen where Finn introduced him to the complex art of sandwich-making. Blaine sat down opposite of Finn at the island and watched how Finn religiously prepared deliciously toasted peanut butter sandwiches. "There you go!" Finn served the first one to Blaine and they ate in silence except for occasional humming sounds in appreciation of the amazing bite.

"Another one?" Finn offered when they'd finished.

"No, thanks, one is enough."

Finn raised a brow at him. "One is never enough, bro."

Blaine looked up and watched Finn getting two more sandwiches ready. "Did you just call me _brother_?"

"Uhm, yeah, why? Don't you like it?" Finn asked, and Blaine noticed how easy it was to make Finn feel guilty about something.

"No, it's cool." With a happy grin Blaine accepted the next sandwich and took a bite. "Thanks."

It was really nice sitting in the kitchen in the middle of the night with Finn. Just like brothers.

"So, uhm, I was meaning to ask you," Finn suddenly started and Blaine looked up expectatly.

"Yeah?"

"Uhm, just checking if you're okay?"

"I'm fine," Blaine replied with an assuring nod.

"Cool." Finn picked crumbles off his plate with his finger. "That's great."

"It would be cool if you didn't tell anyone, though," Blaine started and went on with a shrug, "you know, that I stayed over tonight."

"Don't worry. I've got your back."

"Thanks." Blaine was relieved. With a gossip like Finn one could never be sure, though.

"Um, so you staying for longer?" Finn looked up again. "Did your parents kick you out or something? I'm just asking because, you know, I know what it's like. Well, not that I've ever been kicked out but when Quinn was pregnant her parents went all crazy and, well, I guess you're not pregnant or whatever, but..."

"Don't worry, I'm not staying for longer," Blaine cut in to save Finn from rambling. "It's just for one night because I have trouble with my car."

"Right," Finn acknowledged, and added quickly, "Not that it was a problem if you stayed for longer! I'm cool with that. But you know, I'm glad you're not pregnant."

"Me, too." Blaine chuckled. "Although Kurt's and my baby would be totally awesome!"

Finn squinted his eyes, probably trying to figure out what a baby of Kurt's and Blaine's would be like. Apparently failing he gave up.

"Okay can I tell you something hilarious?" Finn said with a chuckle. "But don't freak out about it, 'kay? And don't tell Kurt, 'cause he'd totally freak out."

"What is it?" Blaine asked, biting his lips nervously. Anything that Finn found hilarious was a reason to be nervous about. Especially if it was something he shouldn't tell Kurt.

"You know earlier when you were parking in the driveway?" Finn was already giggling before he even got started. "Burt was watching you guys because he was wondering why Kurt wouldn't come in and then all of a sudden he was like, _oh my God, what are they doing?_ Of course Mom and me hurried to the window and now get this, when you were hunched over in Kurt's lap it looked like you were totally just sucking him off. Burt was about to storm out on you when Carole told him that you were crying and not, you know, doing the nasty."

"Oh god," Blaine dragged a hand down his face. He had thought the crying had been embarrassing. But having Kurt's father think he had been giving Kurt a blowjob in his car in the driveway? Oh, my God! He was sure he couldn't face Burt Hummel tomorrow.

"Sorry," Finn was grinning like a madman. "But I thought it was really funny. You know, Burt would've totally killed you if you had been in Kurt's pants!"

Blaine released a deep sigh. "Still, I'd rather done _that_ than all the stupid crying," he finally replied.

"Ewww, dude!" Finn put his third sandwich down with disgust and Blaine started laughing. Before he knew what was happening he was laughing out loud together with Finn, almost hysterically. Because really, it was hilarious. And talking with Finn about blowjobs was definitely hilarious, too. Finn fist-bumped Blaine's shoulder and wiped tears of laughter out of his eyes. "Oh, man! Awesome!"

"Just so you know," Blaine said after they'd calmed down again. "I'd never put Kurt into an awkward situation like that!"

"Yeah, I didn't think so," Finn replied with a chuckle and got up to put their plates into the sink.

"What do you mean?" Blaine narrowed his eyes into slits.

"Well, you're always so coy and chaste around each other," Finn replied with a shrug. "It's hard to believe you're actually a couple, you know? I mean just look at Rachel and me or Tina and Mike, we're always kissing and cuddling at school. You and Kurt could as well just be friends."

Blaine shook his head as he felt the anger rise again. "Did it ever cross your mind that it was kind of a bad idea for Kurt and me to be all touchy with each other in public?"

Judging from Finn's dumbfounded expression it didn't.

"Are you saying you're holding back because you're afraid of people looking at you?"

"No," Blaine said slowly. "We're holding back because we're afraid of people calling us hateful names or shoving us into lockers or beating the hell out of us."

Blaine turned away so he didn't have to look at Finn's face. Yeah, it was kind of endearing, because apparently Finn thought being gay wasn't a reason to hide away. Unfortunately, the majority of the world didn't think like that just yet.

"I'm sorry," Finn finally answered, rubbing his neck with one hand and looking troubled. "I didn't really think about it that way."

"It's okay," Blaine waved it off. "Don't worry about us. Thanks again for the sandwich."

"You're welcome, bro," Finn replied and headed upstairs quietly.

Blaine got back to the couch, feeling cold all of a sudden. He listened to Finn's retreating steps on the stairs. It was weird to know that Finn wasn't able to grasp the extent of their relationship and it reminded Blaine of how sad it was that he wasn't able to be all coupley with Kurt the way all their friends were with their partners.

Just something as simple as holding hands...

Blaine remembered the night of the Sadie Hawkins Dance. As if he could ever forget. The whole night had been kind of awkward. Blaine had been leaning with his back against the wall all night long, watching the crowd on the dance floor longingly because the music had been really good. However, he had remained motionless, just clutching his glass of diet coke and listening to whenever Jonathan had felt the need to remark on someone's dancing skills. Blaine hadn't been surprised and definitely not disappointed when Jonathan had asked him to leave early.

Jonathan hadn't really been his date, he hadn't even been a close friend. Jonathan had just been the only other gay kid at school and as soon as Blaine had come out the boy had been trailing alongside him, clearly thinking being miserable together was better than being miserable alone. There were no romantic feelings involved, not on Blaine's part and he never really knew what was going through Jonathan's head, except that he'd been exremely insecure. Not just about being gay. About everything. _What shoes do you wear for gym? Which table do we sit down at lunch time? Do you hand your paper in before class starts or when class ends?_ The few months they'd been friends Jonathan had driven Blaine crazy with his insecurities.

As the night of the Sadie Hawkins Dance approached it had been even worse. _Are you going or rather not? Do you go alone or do you mind if I come along? Are you going to actual dance? I don't dance. Do you dance with a girl if one askes you to? Do you ask a girl to dance?_ In the end the two of them had just stood at the side like stage props the whole night because Jonathan had been anxious to draw any attention to themselves and by the time Jonathan announced he wanted to leave Blaine had been bored to death and happy to say yes.

Only when they had finally been standing in the parking lot waiting for Jonathan's father to pick them up Jonathan had been able to relax. They'd even been joking around and Blaine remembered laughing about something Jonathan said which had been rare because most of the time the boy wasn't funny at all.

Then all of a sudden Jonathan had surprised him by saying he'd enjoyed the evening, well, not so much the dance but being there with him. Blaine had lifted his eyebrows, not sure what to reply because he hadn't been sure what Jonathan had expected him to say.

Without a word Jonathan had slipped his hand inside of Blaine's and Blaine remembered looking down at their linked hands and enjoying the soft touch of Jonathan's warm hand and a sweet fuzzy feeling spread inside of him. Holding hands with a boy for the first time had been wonderful, even if it had been with Jonathan who was a total nerd and not at all Blaine's type.

But it had only been a very brief moment.

"Hey faggots! You're leaving early! Don't you wanna have a little fun with us? The night's just started!" It had been one of the jocks, of course, along with two of his jock friends.

Jonathan had jerked his hand back as if he'd been burnt and Blaine had stuffed his own hands deep into the pockets of his jacket. He had wanted to be all brave and answer with a smart reply but nothing came to his mind. When the guys started shoving them, Blaine had tried to take the most of the attack. He had talked back to them to get their attention in an attempt to protect Jonathan who had been too scared to even move a finger. Blaine's attempt had been successful.

He had ended up in hospital for several months whereas Jonathan had only had a broken wrist and some bruises, nothing too bad compared to Blaine's injuries. Jonathan had never come to visit Blaine in the hospital and they hadn't talked since.

Kurt was so different from Jonathan. Sometimes Kurt was too bold for Blaine's liking, too eager to be heard and going after what he thought he rightfully deserved in life, never backing off when he hit limits. Sometimes Kurt's fierceness scared Blaine and he was afraid that his boyfriend would get hurt.

Like junior prom. It had taken all the courage Blaine could gather to accompany Kurt who insisted on wearing a kilt. He'd only gone because he knew Kurt would go no matter what and Blaine had wanted to be there to protect Kurt in case something bad happened. He also knew that in a situation like the one at the Sadie Hawkins Dance, Kurt would step up and try to protect Blaine. Kurt would want to take the blow if it meant Blaine would come out of it unharmed. That's why Blaine didn't want to ever face a dangerous situation together with Kurt. He feared that he wouldn't be able to stop the homophobic jerks from attacking them and stop Kurt from jumping into the line of fire at the same time.

Kurt had been through a lot of stuff already but he had never been beaten up for holding some guy's hand and Blaine just hoped, prayed that Kurt never would have that experience.

That's the reason they would never be able to do something as simple as holding hands without having to check if the wrong people saw. It made Blaine's heart ache and he was glad that he didn't have to go to school this week and watch all of their friends being affectionate while he couldn't do the same with Kurt.

* * *

><p>Blaine was so consumed in his dark thoughts and memories that he didn't hear someone else coming down the stairs quietly. He startled when suddenly there was Kurt's whispering voice hovering over the couch.<p>

"Blaine, love, are you awake?"

"Yes," he answered a second slow, waiting for his heart to stop beating out of his chest. He looked up at Kurt's silhouette in the dim light of the lamp on the couch table.

"Mind if I join you?" Kurt was already on his way around the couch and Blaine held up his blanket. Kurt slipped in, spooning him from behind and wrapping an arm tight around Blaine's chest. Blaine intertwined his fingers with Kurt's and held him close.

"Do you guys always sneak around the house at night?" Blaine asked with a chuckle.

"Finn always," Kurt answered. "Carole occasionally. Depends on which shift she works. My dad sometimes sleepwalks. It used to scare the hell out of me until I figured out all I had to do is say, _go back to bed, dad,_ and he would. Bossing unconscious people around is fun."

"My dad has a snack in the kitchen every night," Blaine told him. "He leaves a mess and doesn't bother to clean up in the morning."

"Sounds just like Finn," Kurt commented, his warm breath blowing over Blaine's neck.

"Do you remember Rachel's party?" Blaine asked after a few seconds of silence. "The one where I got wasted?"

"Do I remember?" Kurt chuckled softly. "That night's hard to _forget_."

"I was kinda jealous of you that night."

"Jealous of me? Why?"

"Because you got what I always wanted."

"What do you mean?"

"You got Finn."

"Excuse me? Did I miss something?" Kurt asked incrediously. "You wanted to have _Finn_?"

Blaine chuckled. "A _brother_. Seeing you interact with him at that party just made me realize how much I wanted that for myself. I thought you were so lucky to get a brother just like that."

"Wow, I didn't realize that you were jealous of me at that party!" Kurt was amazed. "I guess I was too busy being jealous of Rachel who got to kiss you."

"Oh, that part. I like to forget that part," Blaine chuckled again and let his fingers run across the knuckles of Kurt's hand close to his heart. "When you were younger did you sometimes wish you had a brother or a sister?"

"No,"Kurt answered honestly without even thinking about it. "I always liked being an only child. I liked being the center of attention."

"I wanted a brother," Blaine admitted. "I always wished I had someone on my side, you know? To team up against my parents. I had a couple of good friends but I envied them for their brothers. Because when I got home from the playground it was just me and my parents again. When you told me you were an only child, too, I knew you could relate to what I was feeling because you were by yourself, too. And then seeing you with Finn... I just wish I had that. It was stupid to get envious over that and even more stupid to drink too much beer to drown my misery. Also I guess it's too late to tell my parents to adopt some kid."

"Oh Blaine! You drank too much at the party because you were jealous of me getting a brother?" Kurt was laughing softly. "You know I wasn't even happy at first to get a brother. I mean, yeah, it was my idea to set our parents up but when it dawned on me that I had to share my dad with Finn, I got scared." Kurt sighed and placed a little kiss behind Blaine's ear. "By the way you can borrow Finn anytime," Kurt offered with a smirk. "He's really good for whenever you feel the need to smack someone or tell someone to shut up. It's fun."

Blaine chuckled. "I always dreamed of having an older brother who was in a band just so I could say, _Hey my brother's in a band._"

"I always wanted a boyfriend who could keep up with me vocally," Kurt said with a teasing tone in his voice. "But you're doing alright as well."

Blaine slapped Kurt's arm playfully and then snuggled closer into the embrace, enjoying the way Kurt nuzzled into his hair at the back of his neck. Blaine closed his eyes and listened to the sound of his boyfriend's soft breathing. He loved being close to Kurt like this, especially since they didn't have much opportunity to be. Lying on a couch together, as close as possible and holding hands, it seemed like a dream come true at the moment.

And again this was a first. Never before had Kurt been lying behind him like this, spooning him, draping his arms around him to hold him tight, to show that he was there and would never let him go.

Blaine concentrated on the feeling of Kurt's warm body pressing against his own and started fantasizing what it would be like if they were naked.

He imagined the feel of Kurt's warm smooth chest against his bare back...

...and then he imagined what it would feel like if Kurt was hard and his erection was pressed against his backside and Blaine would open his legs a little to welcome the hardness between his legs and...

"What's wrong?" Kurt's worried voice startled him and Blaine's face heated up when he realized that he'd kind of moaned at his fantasy and Kurt must have mistaken the sound as a whimper or something, thinking he was going to cry again.

"Are you okay?" Kurt whispered and squeezed him tighter. Blaine could tell that Kurt was still worried about his meltdown earlier.

How should he explain to his boyfriend that he wasn't upset but instead got himself into a state of the hard kind? Why even talk? Blaine turned around and let desire overwhelm him. Why fantasize when he could have the real thing? He captured Kurt's face with one hand and kissed him with the full intention of making Kurt feel his desire.

Kurt chuckled into the kiss. "Mmh, peanut butter. You've had a midnight snack with Finn."

"I can't hide anything from you," Blaine replied a little breathless and let one hand slide down between the blankets and along the side of his boyfriend's thighs. Gosh, Blaine loved the thin fabric of Kurt's pajamas.

He shifted closer and pressed his hard-on against Kurt's thigh. Kurt gasped into the kiss and let go of Blaine's lips to breathe out a scandalized, "Oh God, Blaine, you're..."

"Hard? I know." Blaine smirked and fingered the waistband of Kurt's underwear. "You'll be, too, just give me a few seconds..." He started touching and stroking him. More than anything he loved the feeling of Kurt's hardness in his hand.

"No, we shouldn't..." Kurt's hand grabbed Blaine's wrist in a half-heartedly attempt to stop his actions, but his breathing quickened with growing desire. "Blaine, don't..."

Blaine silenced him with another forceful kiss. Slowly, teasingly he let his thumb run over the head of Kurt's cock and couldn't help himself, he _needed_ to taste it and to pleasure Kurt with his tongue.

"Blaine... please..." Kurt murmured once Blaine broke their kiss. "Stop it..."

Blaine wouldn't listen. Instead he wound himself out of Kurt's embrace and moved down to close his mouth around his boyfriend, but Kurt's hands stopped him with a last plea. "Don't! Please stop it! My parents and Finn are upstairs and... I don't want to reject you, but please, please understand that we can't do this _here..."_

Blaine sat up straight. It was like someone had thrown a pitch of ice cold water over him.

Kurt had sneaked out of his room to join him on the couch to comfort him, and here he was, ravishing his boyfriend, not caring about his family in the house and Kurt feeling uncomfortable. Oh, my God. Blaine realized he was no better than Sebastian, was he? He couldn't hear the words _no_ and _don't_ when he was horny.

"I'm... God, I'm so sorry, Kurt," he said, ashamed and not daring to look at him. "I... I should go."

"You're going nowhere, silly." Kurt held his arms open insistently. "Come back here."

Blaine crawled back into Kurt's embrace, facing him and Kurt kissed him on the mouth, gently, lovingly. "Friday night," he whispered. "We can do whatever you want Friday night, love."

Blaine cupped Kurt's cheek with one hand and nodded, not trusting his voice to speak. He didn't deserve a boyfriend like Kurt, so absolutely wonderful and understanding and loving. They entwined their legs, both still aroused but just enjoying the feel of it without fanning the flames.

"I'm sorry, Kurt, I'm such a jerk and I'm sorry..." Blaine apologized over and over again.

"It's okay," Kurt assured him with a little laugh. "You're not the only one who gets horny, Blaine. It's not easy for me to keep my hands off you either. Especially when we're so close to each other."

"Being horny is no excuse." Blaine was still shocked about his own behavoir. He didn't listen when Kurt said no. This was unforgiveable. And didn't he just tell Finn that he'd never put Kurt in an awkward situation? "No excuse at all for what I did to you. I won't grope you like that again, I swear! It won't happen again!"

"Oh, I sure do hope you will grope me again," Kurt said with a chuckle, clearly to brighten up the mood. "Because I do expect my boyfriend to touch me."

"It will never happen again without your permission," Blaine promised and put a kiss on Kurt's cheek. "I will never ambush you like this again."

"I know you won't," Kurt replied gently. "Don't be so harsh on yourself. I'm not angry with you." Kurt smoothed his hand over Blaine's curls. "How are you, honey? Are you feeling better apart from kicking yourself over this?"

Blaine remembered how he had cried in Kurt's arms just earlier. It felt like ages ago. "Yeah, I'm better," he replied hoarsely and clung to Kurt. "I love you so much, Kurt," he whispered and felt so vulnerable. Why was it so easy to mess everything up and so hard to get things right? He never wanted to mess up his thing with Kurt. He was lucky that Kurt was so forgiving.

"I don't ever wanna be without you."

"You'll always have me." Kurt leaned his forehead against Blaine's and when he whispered his breath blew softly over Blaine's lips, "And Friday night I'll show you how much I appreciate you getting horny in my presence."

"Friday night it is," Blaine confirmed with a grin and stroked his hand along Kurt's jaw. He was so beautiful even in the dim light of the nearby lamp. "Kurt, on Friday... this time I wanna go all the way..."

"Oh, alright, no pressure," Kurt chuckled again, this time a heavy dose of anxiety mixed into his voice.

"Just if you're ready," Blaine backpedalled. "No pressure!"

"As ready as one can be for the first time," Kurt whispered and drew in a deep breath. "I wanna do it, too, Blaine, I'm just afraid that you'll have all these expectations and in the end it's not gonna be anything like you imagine it to be."

"I have no expectations whatsoever, Kurt. I know it's gonna be wonderful because I'm gonna share it with you. And you know I haven't been disappointed so far," he added with a smirk. But there was something else on his mind and he wondered what Kurt's thoughts were on this matter.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Blaine, honestly? You don't always have to ask whether or not you could ask me stuff. _Anything_, love. No secrets, no boundaries. Alright?"

"Alright." Blaine nodded and felt awful because at this point he had secrets he wasn't ready to share with his boyfriend. But right now there was something else bothering him. "Kurt, do you think I'm... you know... I mean at some point we gotta talk about this, right?"

"Do I think you're what, honey?" Kurt asked patiently, still stroking his fingers through Blaine's hair lovingly.

"Do you..." Blaine swallowed hard before he was able to get it out. "Do you think I'm a top or a bottom?"

"Excuse me?" Kurt's eyes widened at this. "What kind of a question is that?"

"It's a simple question," Blaine replied with a little insecure laugh. He didn't know why he couldn't answer it himself. What was wrong with him? Even his fantasies and sex dreams were uncertain, maybe because he hadn't experienced anything before. But why was it so easy for the people around him to put him into a box? Why did Sebastian see him as a bottom whereas the ND guys thought otherwise? Why did he care so much about what they thought of him? The only one who mattered was Kurt.

"Blaine, you're a person, not a sexual preferance." Kurt sighed. "Let me guess... you've had some kind of sex talk with the guys and they assumed you were the top in our relationship, full stop. No room for discussion."

"Yeah, it kinda was like that," Blaine admitted.

"Hey, we don't do stereotypes, remember? Let them think whatever they want. The only thing that's important is how _you_ feel. No one else can answer those kinds of questions for you. And if you don't know how you feel about this just yet, that's fine. We'll find out."

It was a promise and Blaine smiled at his boyfriend, his eyes watery. "What about you, Kurt? How do you feel about yourself?"

"You know I believe in equality. I would love to at least try everything, as long as we both feel comfortable with whatever we do. It's all about giving each other pleasure and not who is the _man_, who is the one in control."

Blaine nodded. They had talked about it, right after the first time they'd allowed their hands to travel south of the equator. They had agreed they'd at least try out anything they wanted and felt comfortable doing. However, they hadn't talked about _what_ they wanted yet. Until now hands and tongues had been enough. The next step was the act of intercourse and the question who tops, who bottoms? He could imagine Kurt to top so easily because Kurt was kind of bossy at times and he liked to take the lead, be the one in control. Also Blaine loved it when Kurt told him what to do.

"Doesn't it make you angry the way everybody expects you to play the female part in our relationship? How they think I'm the one _on top_?"

"They're straight, Blaine. In their eyes there has to be the man and the woman. Who cares about their limited point of views? It's all about us, right? Do you want to limit yourself just to be the _man_ in their eyes? Ever heard of the term _power bottom_ or topping from the bottom? Just because someone tops doesn't mean he dominates the act. You can have a lot of control from the bottom, too. Besides, no one needs to know what we do in our bedrooms. Right?"

"Wow." Blaine bowed his head and nuzzled into the crook of Kurt's neck. "I remember a time when you simply refused to talk about sex. Now you talk about sex like a pro! What happened? I don't recognize you."

Kurt blushed and cleared his throat. "I... uhm... I've been reading a lot of fanfiction lately..."

"Fanfiction?" Blaine hesitated with a grin before adding, "You mean porn?"

"No!" Kurt protested loudly and then added in a hushed voice, "Those are very well written love stories and, yeah, some of them have an erotic twist..."

"What became of my sweet innocent Kurt who blushed by the mention of _those movies_ and who said the touch of fingertips was as sexy as it gets?" Oh, Blaine loved teasing him.

"He got himself a boyfriend and felt the need to educate himself," Kurt admitted and tilted his head to allow Blaine more space to let his lips run along the pulse on Kurt's neck.

"So what stories are you reading?"

"Uhm, you know... some Twilight and Harry Potter stuff. There are some really, really amazing stories that got me hooked. My favorite pairing's Harry and Draco, but lately I've discovered that Edward and Jacob are a very interesting combo, too."

"Do I understand correctly?" Blaine asked teasingly. "That you're reading PORN?"

Kurt blushed even more and got defensive. "So what? I don't like watching _those movies._ I prefer making my own pictures in my head. Also I think fanfiction it a good way to learn, you know, about the mechanics and stuff, things you don't get from a few pamphlets. I'm aware that it's just fiction and that some of the techniques aren't really doable in real life, but it gives you an idea of what one _could_ be doing..."

"Tell me please!" Blaine begged. "Tell me which stories you're reading, I wanna read them, too!"

"No way!" Kurt was giggling.

"Why not?"

"It's rather private."

"Come on, it's on the internet."

"I don't want you to read the same stuff I'm reading," Kurt insisted with a laugh. "It's embarrassing."

"Kurt, we've seen each other naked. How embarrassing can reading fanfiction be?"

"Hush now," Kurt tried to silence him by covering Blaine's face with light kisses. "Sleep now!"

"You expect me to sleep after telling me you're reading porn?"

"If you don't, I'll go back upstairs."

"No! Stay with me on the couch!" Blaine wrapped his arms around Kurt firmly and promised to be good. "I can't believe you're reading porn, though. It's so _hot_."

"It's called _fanfiction_," Kurt insisted and snuggled into Blaine's side.

"Yeah, right." Blaine could feel his boyfriend's chuckle vibrate through his body.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading! Btw, I love reviews if you get my drift...<strong>


	17. Changes

**Changes**

The next morning Blaine woke up to the sound of someone whisper-calling Kurt's name.

"Kurt, wake up, buddy. You gotta get ready for school."

"Haven't heard my alarm clock go off yet," Kurt protested with a sleepy voice and dug his face deeper into the crook of Blaine's neck and tightened his grip on Blaine's shoulder blades. Blaine answered Kurt's moves by fastening his own embrace around Kurt's middle and keeping his eyes firmly shut. He didn't want to let go of Kurt just yet. Screw school!

A low chuckle followed. "That's because your clock's upstairs, kiddo."

"Huh?" This made Kurt stir and glance up at his father who hovered over the couch with an amused grin on his lips. Blaine could see it through the small crack he allowed one of his eyes to open.

"Oh." Kurt sighed and then louder, "Oh!" when he realized where he was and shouldn't be. A brief look of panic flashed across his face but was met by another chuckle of his father.

"You need a prybar to get free?"

Now Kurt chuckled, too, and his breath blew across Blaine's face. "No, thanks. I know where he's ticklish."

With a loud laugh Burt retreated into the kitchen.

Blaine wondered for a moment how his own father would have reacted if he'd found them on the couch, wrapped up in each other's arms. Howard Anderson definitely wouldn't have made a funny remark about it and be cool with it.

"Good morning," Kurt whispered and his hand ghosted over Blaine's face and along his jaw. "I know you're awake."

"I have a crazy idea," Blaine murmured without opening his eyes. "How about you ditch school today and stay with me right here on this wonderful fantastic amazing couch?"

"Sounds tempting," Kurt replied with a soft laugh. "But I have to take this test today that I should've spent all night long studying for."

"At least consider putting that idea on your bucket list, okay?"

"Duly noted." Kurt was chuckling again and his laughter vibrated throughout his body into Blaine's, a wonderful feeling that made Blaine cling to him even more. His hands found their way underneath Kurt's shirt and he let them run over the length of Kurt's back. Blaine closed the little distance between their faces and placed a kiss on Kurt's smile.

"Kurt? You're up?" Burt called a reminder from out of the kitchen and Kurt let go of Blaine with an apologetic murmur. "Gotta get ready for school." He caressed Blaine's neck with his fingers. "You can use my shower and my room to dress when I'm gone."

"Thanks," Blaine said but still didn't let go of Kurt. Instead he enjoyed staring into Kurt's eyes and holding his gaze along with a playful smile on his lips.

"Blaaaine, you need to let me go," Kurt tugged lightly at Blaine's arms, but Blaine kept him locked up in his embrace and looped a leg over his boyfriend's middle for extra hold.

"Don't make me tickle you," Kurt warned and let his hands wander off underneath the blanket to places that would make Blaine squirm if he touched him there.

"Kurt! It's half past seven now!" Burt's amused voice came from the kitchen once more and made Blaine laugh. It was amazing how at ease he felt with Kurt's father around. Burt Hummel was just like his son – when Blaine expected him to zig he'd zag. Who would've guessed that Burt wouldn't get angry at his teenage son and his boyfriend snuggling up on the couch and lingering there?

"Shit, I'm gonna be late!" Kurt pushed himself out of Blaine's grasp and off the couch but quickly leaned back down to place three loud kisses on Blaine's forehead, cheek and chin. "Mwah!"

"Wait! What about here?" Blaine put a finger on his lips and looked up at Kurt expectantly but Kurt just giggled and shook his head. "Uh no, that's a trap. If I start kissing you I'll never get going." Then he hurried upstairs.

Blaine slumped down again on his back, stretching out and resting an arm over his eyes. He had no clue what to do with his day. At all.

"Coffee?"

Blaine uncovered his eyes and used his arm to push himself up into a sitting position.

Burt was standing in the doorway holding two mugs of steaming coffee with a questioning gaze.

"Yeah, thanks. I, uh... I'll join you in the kitchen."

Blaine got up and raked his hands through his hair to make himself somewhat presentable at this early hour. He was wearing a pair of Kurt's lightblue pajamas, the legs were a little bit too long. He walked into the kitchen on bare feet and took a seat on the barstools around the island. Burt placed the mug in front of him and offered milk and sugar, both of which Blaine accepted with another thanks.

"Did ya sleep alright?" Burt asked with somewhat like a knowing smirk.

Blaine tried to hide a cheeky grin himself at the thought of sharing the couch with Kurt. "Uhm, yeah, I did. The, uhm, the couch's very comfortable."

"I bet," Burt chuckled. "With Kurt as a pillow it sure was comfy."

Blaine blushed a little, but didn't feel ashamed. Although Burt Hummel looked like you'd better not mess with him, he was the kindest and most amazing dad Blaine had ever met. It was easy to feel good in his presence and free to be just himself. For his kindness and honesty Blaine respected Burt Hummel even more than he did his own father.

"You alright, Blaine?" Burt softly blew at his coffee before taking a cautious sip.

"Yes, I'm fine, thanks. And thank you for talking to my dad last night and, well, thanks for not mentioning that I've… you know… been crying… It's rather embarrassing and I don't want my parents to know about that."

"Don't worry about it. I get it this week of suspension's been pretty hard on you? Working at your dad's didn't turn out so well?"

Blaine raised one shoulder into a one-sided shrug. "There's been some kind of misunderstanding and it's no use trying to explain things to my dad."

Burt nodded along and it seemed like he wanted to say some more, but wasn't sure how to approach the matter. They sipped at their coffees for a minute before Burt spoke up again. "So Kurt told me your parents both always work late?"

"Well, yeah, they work pretty hard." Blaine kept his eyes on his mug and stirred the spoon for a while, not liking where the conversation was heading. After another moment of silence Burt cleared his throat and spoke up again, "Say, Blaine, can I ask you a personal question?"

"Uhm, yeah, sure." Oh, my God! Blaine clutched at his coffee mug and braced himself for the worst question ever. Have you been intimate with my son? Oh, my God, this was his boyfriend's father after all, no matter how friendly and good-natured Burt Hummel was, he'd go furious if he knew that Kurt was no innocent little boy anymore and it was all Blaine's fault and...

"Are your parents okay with you being gay?"

"Uhm..." Blaine felt taken aback by this question. His tension was replaced by a feeling of defeat. He swallowed hard and tilted his head, not sure how to answer that one.

"Actually, we... we don't really talk about it," he finally managed with a shrug. "Don't get me wrong, they _know_ it and kind of accept it. They don't have much of a choice, I guess. But most of the time they choose to ignore the fact. I suppose they like to put up the illusion that Kurt's just one of my friends."

"But you'd rather they'd be more open-minded about it?"

Blaine sighed and shook his head. "I guess I should feel lucky enough that they don't hate me. I mean a lot of gay kids not only have to be scared to go to school but also to come back home. Family's supposed to be your shelter, your rock. Many kids don't even have that. And my parents may not be dancing on tables for the fact that I'm gay but they don't beat me up either."

Burt listened to him with a serious expression and Blaine was kind of dreading his response but luckily Finn picked this moment to storm into the kitchen, loudly complaining, "Kurt's picking on me just because _he's_ late!"

"I just told you to stop playing video games at quarter to eight!" Kurt entered the kitchen after him. "Besides, you're driving."

"I already drove all week long," Finn grumbled. "What about your car, Kurt?"

"Guess that's my fault," Burt told his step-son. "Kurt's car's in my shop for inspection but I didn't have time yet to look at it. Would you mind driving to school for the rest of the week?" Burt slipped Finn a few bucks but Kurt saw it. "You never give me extra money for gas when I drive Finn around!"

"I do your inspection for free!" Burt countered with a chuckle. "That is, Finn's doing it." Burt nodded at Finn. "Kurt's car is yours to take care of this afternoon. You can do an inspection by yourself by now, can you?"

Finn nodded proudly. "Will do!"

"Dad, no!" Kurt protested loudly. "I'll not have my car be the guinea pig for Finn. I'd rather do the inspection myself!"

"Then why don't you?" Burt asked his son teasingly.

"Fine." Kurt crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I'll drop by after school and tend to my car myself."

"You can...?" Blaine started to ask in awe, but stopped himself. Kurt was the son of a mechanic. Of course he could inspect a car.

"Dude, your hair!" Finn suddenly pointed with his finger to Blaine and cracked up laughing. Blaine self-consciously raised his hands to try and smoothe his wild curls down.

Kurt slapped the back of Finn's head and snatched an apple from the fruit basket. "I'm ready for take off!"

"Wait! I don't have my lunch box!" Finn opened the fridge and inspected its contents. "Where is it?"

"You look adorable in the morning," Kurt whispered into Blaine's ear and let his fingers run through the mess that was Blaine's hair.

"And you look..." Blaine looked his boyfriend up and down and couldn't help giggling. "What's this? Have you confused Finn's closet with your own? This is how you wanna go to school?"

Kurt was wearing red sneakers, a pair of baggy blue jeans and a green ugly windbreaker Blaine didn't even know Kurt owned. Apparently in all his haste Kurt didn't have time to pull out his usual fabulous outfit and had to stick with normal teenage boy basics as a last minute option. Poor baby. Blaine didn't know why he found it highly amusing to see his boyfriend in clothes like that.

However, at Blaine's words Kurt's face fell slightly. "I thought you loved me no matter what kind of clothes I wore."

"Of course I do. It's just..." Blaine shrugged and made a move with his hand. "This isn't you."

Kurt opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by a cheerful yell."Got it! Mom already prepared it last night!" Finn held up his lunch box proudly and grabbed his car keys. "C'mon, Kurt!"

"Call me later?" Kurt made the call me sign by sticking his thumb and little finger out and waggle his hand.

"Call you later," Blaine confirmed with a wide grin and watched the brothers leave.

Before Burt could resume their conversation Blaine hastily excused himself and went upstairs to use Kurt's bathroom.

* * *

><p>Blaine couldn't help but smile when he entered Kurt's bathroom. He found two fluffy towels that Kurt had laid out for him with a little note on top that says,<em> All that's mine is yours – except for the <em>Dior_ crème, that's for my sensitive skin only, it also costs a fortune, so please don't touch that. Love, Kurt_

Blaine undressed and put his clothes over the back of the chair in front of Kurt's vanity. For a moment he took everything in, all the different skin care and beauty products that were arranged neat and in order on the small table. He imagined what living with Kurt would be like, when they would share a bathroom and he'd watch Kurt doing his skin care regime every night instead of just talking to him over the phone. Maybe Kurt would be shy and not let him watch when he worked on his skin.

With a fond smile on his lips Blaine entered the shower and turned the water to hot and let the spray run down his back, relaxing into it.

He loved to drown into fantasies about his future with Kurt. He could absolutely picture himself with Kurt in five years or in ten years, sharing a place and a bed. Waking up every morning with Kurt wrapped around him. He simply couldn't imagine life without his boyfriend anymore.

He noticed that Kurt's shower was so clean one could practically eat from the tiled floor. Not one stray hair was to be seen. He saw to it that he left it as clean as he'd found it.

Although he had nothing planned for today so far somehow he felt like it was going to be a super crappy day because usually when his day started off amazingly in the end it would totally suck.

Starting with the fact that he had no hair gel. Despite common belief he didn't carry a bottle around in his bag. So he went through Kurt's hair products and helped himself to some stuff to tame his unruly curls. However, none of Kurt's products was as good as his good ole' gel.

When he felt like a human being again he settled on Kurt's bed, took a deep breath - the lingering scent of his boyfriend was soothing him - and got his phone out to call his dad.

"Hey dad, good morning. You wanted me to call you?"

"Ah, yes, right," his dad was always a bit confused in the mornings. "Blaine, I want you to get a job. I think a job will keep you occupied and take on responsibility."

"But," now it was Blaine's turn to be confused, "I'm only suspended for three more days. How am I supposed to find a job for three days?"

"I'm talking about a permanent job. Other kids work after school hours, too. If you want to keep your splendid lifestyle I suggest you find yourself a workplace."

"My _splendid_ lifestyle?" Blaine repeated baffled. "What are you talking about?"

"What do you think I'm talking about?" Howard Anderson replied in an annoyed tone. "Your phone, your laptop, clothes, the gas you spend every day to drive to Lima..."

"Actually you're saving money since I go to McKinley, Dad," Blaine pointed out. "The monthly boarding fees at Dalton are far more expensive than what I spend on gas now."

"Still, who pays for it? Get yourself a job."

"Okay, okay, I get it," Blaine let out a sigh. "But why _now_, Dad? Are you angry with me because of what happened yesterday?"

"No, I've been thinking about this for a while now. I'm about to make some changes and I don't want to have to pay for you more than I have to."

"What do you mean?" Blaine asked all confused now. "What are you talking about?"

"Look, I can't talk about it right now. You'll see soon enough, Blaine. I have to get to a meeting now. Bye."

"Bye." The conversation with his father left him uneasy and his heart was beating way too fast. Changes. What kind of changes did he talk about? Blaine dragged a hand over his face, trying to make sense of his father's words.

Looking around his boyfriend's place his gaze fell upon the NYADA pamphlets on Kurt's nightstand. There already were a lot of dreadful changes ahead of him but he didn't want to think about Kurt's leaving right now. Blaine left Kurt's room in a haste and went to look for his satchel when suddenly his phone rang. Checking the caller ID he was surprised that it was Finn calling. "Hey Finn, what's up?"

"Dude, you're still at our house?"

"Yeah, what's wrong?"

"I think I forgot to turn my computer off after playing video games this morning. Could you please go into my room and check? If my Mom gets home and sees my computer's still on she'll kill me!"

"Okay, will do." Blaine laughed and walked towards Finn's room.

"Thanks, man. Hey, what're you up to today since you don't need to go to work?"

"Gotta find me a job," Blaine replied with a sigh. "Any ideas where I could apply to?"

"Why don't you ask Burt for a job?" Finn suggested. "There's a lot to do at the garage and I bet he would be glad to have an extra pair of hands for help.

Blaine took a second to consider this. "But I don't know a lot about cars."

"That's okay. I didn't either," Finn said. "It's learning by doing most of the time, you know. I can help you for starters and you know, Burt's just great."

"Mmh I guess it wouldn't be too bad. Thanks, Finn. I'm gonna drop by the shop and see if I'm lucky."

Could it be that for once a problem was solved this easily? However, after his gawky performance in giving Burt a hand just yesterday he doubted that the mechanic was eager to employ someone who couldn't even change his own tire.

Still, he didn't really have any other options so Blaine got into his car and drove straight to the Hummel garage downtown. The last time Blaine had been at the garage he had kind of told Burt Hummel to teach his son about sex. Now that had been awkward especially considering the fact that only a few weeks later he'd shown up as Kurt's boyfriend.

"Hey there," Burt greeted him with a broad smile when Blaine approached him. "Long time no see."

Blaine grinned at that and bowed his head.

"What can I do for you, son?"

Blaine's heart melted at the sound of being called _son_ and for a second he forgot what he came for. Why couldn't his own father be more like Burt Hummel? It was so easy to feel good around Kurt's father.

"I... uhm... I was wondering if maybe you have a job for me? For like after school hours? You know, like Finn?"

"You need money?" Burt asked surprised and Blaine shifted his feet, still not used to the straightforward way of Kurt's father.

"Yes, sir," he replied.

"You saving for something special?"

"No, I just ... you know," Blaine shrugged and continued with a sheepish grin. "Life's expensive. And if I want to keep on taking your son out to fancy dates, I'd better earn me some money."

Burt chuckled at this. "So in the end I'm paying you to take my son out on dates?"

"Uhm, yeah, I guess." Blaine chewed on his lower lip, a little bit confused at this twisted logic. "Look, Burt, I really want to show you that I can do better than not being able to change my own tire. I'm willing to learn and get my hands dirty, you know. If you let me."

"See that door?" Burt pointed to a door next to the office door. "That's our changing room. You'll find one of Kurt's overalls in the leftside locker. Put it on and we'll see how skillful you are with cars. If you still want the job at the end of the day, I'll even think about getting you your own name tag."

"Thanks, Burt." With a wide grin Blaine turned towards the door and felt immensly relieved.

_Guess what? Got myself a job._ He texted Kurt while he changed into the overall with the KURT tag on it and couldn't help to add, _But don't judge me please. I'm working in a shop that sells lube and all that stuff that makes a man's heartbeat speed up. – B _

_OMG what kind of job is it? – K _

_You can come visit me after school. Finn knows where to find me. ;) Love you! – B _

_You're a tease! Gotta find Finn now! Love you more! – K _

* * *

><p>Burt assigned Blaine with easy jobs like cleaning the insides of a car that was about to be picked up by its owner. Or doing an oil check. Getting new tires out of the storage room. He was really just carrying out minor tasks but he tried to accomplish them the best way possible.<p>

Burt didn't have much time to show him much other stuff because he was working on a Chevrolet with his assistant Jeremy. One time he was so engaged into the problem at hand that he didn't even hear the phone ring. So Blaine answered it and after checking Burt's datebook he gave the customer who was calling an appointment for an inspection. He kept answering the phone all morning and provided friendly and professional information, sometimes after consulting Burt about the customer's problem.

"You're doing a really good job with the phone, Blaine," Burt praised at lunch time when the three of them – Jeremy, Burt and Blaine – were sitting together sharing two of Carole's lunch boxes. "Finn usually ignores it and one time when he answered it he's like, _yes, alright, got it, bye_. And when I ask him who'd called and what it was about, he's like, _dunno_."

Blaine couldn't help laughing out loud at Burt's imitation of Finn. It was fun working with Burt. He was calm and patient and he liked showing Blaine what he needed to be done. They joked a lot with Jeremy and it was a very relaxed atmosphere. Quite different than work had been at his father's office.

Soon his initial nervousness was gone. Blaine even felt proud of himself after Burt told him how impressed he was by Blaine's ability to talk to customers, professional yet casual. It was really nice to have Burt Hummel be proud of him.

"Hey Blaine, looking good!" Finn came directly to the shop after school to work his afternoon shift and poked a finger into Blaine's name tag. "Or should I call you _Kurt_?"

With a cheeky grin Finn went to change into his own overall.

"Excuse me, mister," Kurt approached him with a smirk on his lips. "I need for someone to take a close look under my hood."

"At your service, sir," Blaine replied cockily. "Also I see you have a huge bulge in your carriage. I should take care of that, too."

Kurt laughed out loud and slapped Blaine's arm playfully.

"Look, I'm wearing your clothes again," Blaine let a hand run down his front. "Last night your pajamas, today your work gear. Next I'll have you lend me your black skinny jeans."

"Mmh, I'd love to see that." Kurt wiggled his shoulders a little bit and pursed his lips in an alluring way.

"Kurt! Are you distracting my staff?" Burt called over from across the room, sounding strict if it wasn't for the chuckle accompanying his words.

"No, of course not!" Kurt shouted back. "I'll show Blaine the material storage."

Kurt took Blaine's hand and dragged him along. He opened the door to the storage which Blaine had already seen, of course.

"So this is the storage aaaaand this is what I was meaning to show you." Kurt wrapped his arms around Blaine's neck and kissed him.

"Mmh, wait, I'm gonna get dirt on you," Blaine warned and held his hands up.

"It's okay, this is an old jumper," Kurt shrugged, drawing him closer.

"So you really have been to school in this?" Blaine looked down at Kurt's sneakers, blue jeans and said old grey jumper. No animal pins, no shawl, no accessories whatsoever.

"So what?" Kurt leaned in to kiss him again.

Blaine closed his eyes and enjoyed the sensation of having his boyfriend nibble at his lower lip. He opened his mouth and Kurt immediately took the chance to deepen their kiss. Their tongues danced in slow circles around one another and Blaine couldn't help but moan into Kurt's mouth. He loved loved loved kissing Kurt so damn much, it drove him crazy! He wished it was Friday night already because he wanted to be able to kiss Kurt all night long.

"Kurt!" Burt stuck his head into the door. "Either you put on an overall and help around here or you leave."

Kurt pulled away from Blaine and took a deep breath. Blaine felt his cheeks blush at being caught kissing his boyfriend but Burt didn't seem to mind. At least he didn't remark on it.

"I can't stay," Kurt sighed and followed his father back into the shop with Blaine trailing along. "I have a meeting with the girls."

"What about your car?" Blaine asked. "Didn't you wanna do an inspection?"

"I'm allowing Finn to do it," Kurt replied with a shrug. "I'll drive his car for now." He checked his watch. "Oh, gotta go now. We're working on our costumes for the girls vs boys today."

"You're already working on your costumes?" Finn called out in distress, looking up from under the hood of Kurt's Navigator.

"Of course we are," Kurt replied smugly and reached into his bag for his phone which was buzzing. "It's Tina… Hey there, yeah, I'm on my way."

Blaine loved how cheerful Kurt sounded in prospect of meeting the girls. He really enjoyed spending time with them.

"Call me later?" Kurt asked Blaine, cupping a hand over his phone.

"Call you later," Blaine repeated. "But I'll have Mike over so I don't know when I'll be able to call."

"That's okay. Have fun. Call me whenever Mike leaves." Kurt leaned in and kissed him goodbye. It was just a little smack on his lips but Blaine was in heaven.

Kurt felt safe around here and immediately Blaine did, too. This was Kurt's father's shop. The guys who worked here probably knew Kurt since he was a little boy. It was awesome to see Kurt act so casual and normal about giving him a kiss goodbye. Why couldn't it always be this way?

"Yeah, I'm still here," Kurt replied to whatever Tina was saying. "And I have the perfect idea for our outfits! Tell Rachel she needs to let go of her retro look idea because after I tell you my vision you all gonna worship me forever!" Kurt waved back at his boyfriend and hopped into Finn's car.

Blaine was so distracted by watching Kurt back out of the driveway that he jumped two feet into the air when suddenly Finn's voice came right behind him. "Dude, we need to figure something out about the girls. They're way ahead of us! I don't want them to beat us!"

"Uh-hu," Blaine replied. He couldn't care less which group won the girls versus boys competition. Actually he liked seeing Kurt and the girls win. Kurt always got into a sexy mood when he won.

"Emergency meeting on Saturday!" Finn declared. "I'm gonna tell the guys to meet up at the Lima Bean again."

Blaine chose not to point out that an emergency meeting should be held urgently like within the hour, and not two days later. But who was he to judge Finn's decisions?

"Whatever." Blaine sighed and let his fingers run lightly over his lips, the feeling of Kurt's kiss still lingering there.

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you for reading!<strong>

**Next few chapters: Blaine has Mike over. More of Tiffy the cat. Sebastian shows up again to make Blaine's life horrible. Also, Friday night is near!**

**Stay tuned! And give me some love = reviews! :D**


	18. Of Sleazy Rats And Dancing Cats

**Of Sleazy Rats And Dancing Cats**

Thursday had been a really good day so far for Blaine.

He'd gotten himself a job which he really enjoyed doing, although he didn't really know what he was doing most of the time. Still, he looked forward to working after school hours at Burt's garage.

He'd even gotten the chance to make out with Kurt in the storage room (every day that contained a kiss from Kurt was a good day).

Also, Sebastian had seemingly stopped bothering him. Since their dispute at his father's office, the Dalton boy hadn't contacted him anymore. Maybe he'd finally given up. Fingers crossed it stayed that way.

Right now Blaine was heading home. He was expecting Mike over to work on a Michael Jackson dance choreography. He was really looking forward to working with Mike, it should be fun.

Yep, things looked pretty awesome today.

Still, he had to admit that he was nervous about Mike's visit. It was the first time in years that he welcomed a guest into his house, except of course for Kurt. It was an one hour drive from Lima but Mike had insisted on coming. Apparently his parents had guests themselves today and if he'd stayed home he wouldn't have been able to excuse himself.

Blaine noticed his mother's car in the driveway and remembered that it was Thursday and his mother had Thursday afternoons off. He hadn't expected her to be home so he hadn't asked if he could invite Mike over. Well, surely she wouldn't mind. But dang, they wouldn't be able to play loud music when she was in the house. How was one supposed to practice dance moves without loud music on?

He entered the house and called out for his mother. "Hey Mom, I'm home!"

"In the salon!" His mother called back.

Blaine dropped his satchel in the hallway and went over to the living room which his parents liked to call their _salon_. He found his mother lounging on the couch with a bottle of soda in one hand and the phone pressed to her ear.

"I'm on the phone with Aunt Eleanor."

"Oh, please say hi to her for me."

"Blaine says hi, Ellie. Yes, he's still quite the charmer, just like his dad." She laughed at something her sister was saying and Blaine smiled. The only times he heard his mother laugh nowadays was when she was with her younger sister.

"Listen, Mom, I'm expecting a friend within the hour and I was wondering if we could use the living room for dance practice?"

"Your friend's already here." Elaine pointed her finger up. "He's waiting upstairs in your room."

"Really? Wow, he's early."

Blaine hurried upstairs. Approaching his room he heard a loud hissing sound and an unmistakable growl. Oh, God, Tiffy!

Blaine quickened his pace.

Tiffany was a very unpleasant cat when it came to guests. Troublesome, more like it. Especially when Kurt was around. The two of them hated each other passionately. It wasn't that Kurt hadn't tried to get along with the cat, he really had. But ever since the day Tiffany had ruined Kurt's favorite McQueen sweater the war was on. Blaine squirmed just remembering that incident.

The cat had peed on Kurt's sweater.

When Kurt had still been wearing it.

The treacherous cat had settled on Kurt's chest pretending to want to snuggle with him and then... Gosh, Kurt's scream still echoed in Blaine's ears today. He would have to apologize for the rest of his life for Tiffy's behavoir.

So, yeah, Tiffany hated strangers in the house. Blaine could only hope that she hadn't attacked Mike yet. Her claws were really hurtful. If she'd as much as scratched Mike the boy was unlikely to ever show up at Blaine's doorstep again.

But to his surprise it wasn't Mike Chang who stood in the middle of Blaine's room being hissed at by the cat that was sitting high up on the bookshelves.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Blaine wasn't able to keep the disgust out of his voice.

The tall slender boy in the Dalton uniform turned to him wearing one of his brandmarked smirks.

"Hey tiger! I thought I'd drop by to offer my apologies about the other day in the office? Nice bedroom by the way. I like the red bedding, it's kind of naughty."

"Leave! Now!"

"I only just arrived," Sebastian protested with a grin that said he wouldn't leave by choice.

"How do you even know where I live?" Blaine demanded.

"I know _everything_ about you," Sebastian claimed with a casual shrug.

"I don't think so," Blaine spat at him, crossing his arms to hide his shaking hands. Blaine tried not to let Sebastian see how terrified he was that the Warbler boy showed up at his house. This was a place he considered a safe spot. It bothered him that Sebastian got in so easily. How long had he been here already? What did his filthy fingers touch? What did he stick his nose in? Blaine let his gaze scan his room for signs of disturbance.

Tiffany was still up on the bookshelf, growling deep in her throat at Sebastian, her tail flinging from side to side.

Everything looked like he'd left it this morning but he couldn't be sure.

"For one I know that you want me, too," Sebastian said with a smug confidence that made Blaine snort with laughter.

"I know stuff about you, too, Sebastian," Blaine shot back. "For one I know that you're a rich bitch! You're used to getting what you want because your father has money."

"Don't worry, Blaine, I won't offer money to you because sooner or later I'll get you for free," Sebastian said in that in his self-confident drawl that he apparently considered alluring, the one that Blaine had come to hate so much.

"Besides, I already heard that you're not for sale." Sebastian did a lewd bodyroll to underline his words and Blaine just stared at him in shock.

Somebody must have told Sebastian about his argument with Sam the other day.

Or did Sebastian know more about it? Did he find out about the reason why Blaine was sensitive on the matter? Why he had been so reluctant to sell sexy for Sectionals? Why it made him feel like prostituting himself if he showed himself off like that?

Blaine wanted to know what it was exactly that Sebastian claimed to know about him but he was too scared to ask.

Oblivious to Blaine's inner debate Sebastian moved closer, dancing across the room, whistling a tune and stopping right in front of Blaine.

"Don't touch me." Blaine stepped back and shot his hands up when Sebastian reached out for him.

"Poor thing, apparently you've never been touched in the right way," Sebastian cocked his head and looked at him with fake worry. "I promise once you know what it feels like you don't want me to stop."

A sassy grin spread on his face as he sat down on Blaine's bed and bounced up and down on it. "Mmh, I like me a strong mattress."

Blaine lunged forward and grabbed his arm. "Get off of my bed!"

For a moment they pulled at each other but then Sebastian caught Blaine off balance and pulled him down on the mattress, making Blaine tumble on top of him. Sebastian locked his arms around Blaine's back to keep him down and lessen the smaller boy's range to struggle out of the unwelcome embrace.

"Sebastian!" Blaine protested but his voice was muffled from the other boy's shirt.

"Blainers, I'm dashing to the drugstore, do you need... ohh, I'm sorry!"

Out of the corner of his eye Blaine caught sight of his mother appearing in the open door, seeing him on top of another boy and then quickly leaving again. Geez, why did his mother have to see him in a compromising position with Sebastian freaking Smythe? Ah hell, why did life hate him so much?

"Let go of me you bastard!"

"I think it's quite cosy this wa-AYE-ARGH-DAMMIT!"

Blaine had drawn his knee up and rammed it full force into Sebastian's groin.

Sebastian let go of him to crumble into a tight ball and roll around on the bed, cursing and holding his crotch with both hands. "My balls, you crushed my balls!"

Without any sign of mercy Blaine shifted on the bed, put his feet into Sebastian's back and with a resolute push he shoved the Dalton student off the edge of his bed. With a loud thump Sebastian fell onto the floor, still moaning and clutching at his lower parts.

"I told you to get the hell out of my bed," Blaine growled at him.

"I hate you," Sebastian mumbled into the carpet, still convulsed with pain.

"Likewise!" Blaine got off of his bed, his hands balled into fists. If Sebastian wasn't lying on the floor already Blaine would've loved to hit him some more.

"I won't let you terrorize me, Sebastian."

"Believe me, I haven't even started yet," Sebastian said through gritted teeth, still curled up pityfully on the floor.

"Come on, get up, I don't have time for this!" Blaine nudged Sebastian's leg with his shoe and resisted the urge to kick really hard. "If you're not gone in a minute I swear I'll kick you down the stairs!"

The Dalton boy slowly got to his feet. He brushed off his pants and jacket, but limped when he moved to get in Blaine's face. His smug grin was gone, replaced by an unmistakable look of arrogance.

"I'm gonna tell Kurt about us."

For the split of a second Blaine went pale but then his blood boiled hot again. "There is no _us_! So there's nothing to tell!"

Sebastian shrugged. "I can tell him that you were flattered by my advances and that we made out a couple of times."

"He won't believe you!"

"I can be very convincing." Sebastian leaned forward. "He doesn't even need to believe me, just the slightest trace of a doubt is enough. I can destroy your sacred relationship and you know it. As much as you claim that Kurt trusts you, I'm sure he has a lot of insecurities. He will start thinking that you're attracted to me and that you're keeping secrets from him."

"I'm not gonna let you blackmail me," Blaine said more confident than he actually felt.

"Who's talking about blackmailing? I'm offering you a deal," Sebastian specified with his trademark smirk. "I want one night with you and after that I will never contact you again."

Blaine shook his head and huffed in disbelief. "You disgust me."

"I'll get you, one way or another. It's your choice." Sebastian shrugged again. "I don't mind talking to Kurt."

"Stay away from Kurt!" Blaine raised his voice and shoved his finger in Sebastian's face. "If you talk to him I'm gonna kick your ass so hard you won't feel it even if you were fucked by a bull!"

"Fucked by a bull? You got very interesting fantasies, Anderson." Sebastian grinned at that and slowly made his way down the stairs. "Alright, I'll grant you a few days to think about my offer. But don't keep me waiting too long."

Blaine didn't say anything. He just held the door, eager for the Warbler to leave.

Sebastian lingered for one last gaze into Blaine's flaring eyes and raised his hand to touch Blaine's cheek, but Blaine smacked his hand away before his fingers could feel skin.

"Get lost before I forget myself!" Blaine growled through gritted teeth.

Sebastian only chuckled at that and bounced down the path, cheerfully waving back at him. "See ya!"

On his way out Sebastian passed Mike who just walked up the path to the front door. Sebastian greeted him with a big grin.

Mike raised his brows questioningly at Blaine who still stood in the open door.

"Uninvited guest," Blaine said with a deep sigh and a nod at Sebastian's back.

"What does the sleazy rat want from you?" Mike asked with a concerned frown.

"He's just being an ass, as per usual," Blaine replied with a shrug. He wasn't in the mood to repeat Sebastian's threats. "Please, come in."

Mike bent to undo his shoe laces and stepped out of his sneakers before he came in.

"You can keep your shoes on," Blaine offered but Mike just shook his head and put his sneakers neatly next to the door.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Mike asked, noticing how Blaine watched Sebastian's car drive off with a grim expression. "Did he bother you?"

"He's just…" Blaine started and let out a frustrated huff. "He's just really pissing me off! I hate him so much right now, you can't even imagine."

Mike laughed out loud at this and knocked Blaine's shoulder lightly. "How about you forget about that jackass and show me your house? It seems huge."

"Well, it is," Blaine answered with a shy grin.

"How many rooms are there?" Mike asked, following Blaine inside.

"A lot," Blaine answered with a laugh. "It's my mom's house. She grew up here with two brothers and two sisters. They all moved away, but my mom stayed and kept the house. She always wanted to have a big family herself, but they only have me." Blaine shrugged and climbed the stairs, leading Mike through the hallway on the upper floor and pointed to his father's home office, his mother's home office, the master bedroom, two guest rooms, two bathrooms and finally his own bedroom.

"My dad wants to find a new place closer to his office but my mom refuses to move. She loves this house too much. There are too many good memories, you know? And now I feel like I'm rambling." Blaine chuckled to hide his awkwardness.

"It's okay. I can go on for hours talking about my family," Mike told him with a wide smile. "I'm the oldest of three kids. Also, my grandparents live with us. I love our house but it's much smaller than this."

Blaine was nervous to show Mike his room. It wasn't a typical teenager boy bedroom plastered with posters of his favorite sports teams or bands. He had dark green walls and black-and-white pictures of horses and hats and a fencing match. He had inherited those pictures from his grandpa and his heart stuck to them. The only other pictures dear to him were two framed photos of Kurt, one on his nightstand, the other one on his dresser.

Also he liked to keep his room clean and tidy. He'd seen Finn's room. Finn's room was a mess.

"Meeeow!"

Tiffany climbed off the shelf and Blaine hurried to scoop her up before she could attack his new guest. "Tiffy, yeah, missed you too!" He rubbed her head affectionately. "I'm sorry about that big stupid ass Sebastian disturbing you in your afternoon slumber."

"What a beauty!" Mike exclaimed at the sight of the cat.

"Thanks, but she can be a real beast sometimes. I'm only sorry she didn't injure Sebastian."

Mike laughed at this. "She's a lady, she only catches mice and not big stinky rats."

Blaine grinned. "That must be it."

When Mike reached out to pet the cat's head Blaine stepped back. "Careful! I meant it when I said she injures people. You don't want to know how many scratches Kurt has by now."

Tiffany wiggled herself out of Blaine's grasp and jumped on the floor, landing on her feet.

Mike showed a toothy smile in admiration and let himself fall backwards, Blaine gasped in shock, but in the last second Mike turned and landed on his hands, his body never touching the ground, and then pushed himself up again with ease, and brushing off his shoulders with a smug grin.

After the initial shock Blaine applauded enthusiastically. "That's amazing, Mike!"

"Thanks. It's one of my easiest tricks."

Tiffany rubbed against Mike's legs and purred loudly. Mike crouched down to pet her.

"Behave yourself, Tiff." Blaine raised his finger at his cat.

"I think she likes me."

"Wow, that's a first, actually." Tiffany was either glaring at guests or scratching them. Never before had she instantly loved someone.

"Cats usually don't like me because I'm too fidgety," Mike explained with a shrug.

"I think she's impressed by your falling and landing on your hands skills," Blaine offered with a grin.

"Talking about skills! Let's get to work!" Mike clapped his hands before he opened his backpack and produced a pile of CDs out of it. "I brought all my Michael Jackson DVDs and CDs for research purposes."

Blaine looked through the stack of DVDs and laughed. "No need to bring these. I own all of them, too."

"Really?" Mike sounded surprised but then grinned widely. "I have a feeling we're gonna be best friends." Mike put another bag on Blaine's bed. "Look, I also brought my black MJ boots and my red MJ leather jacket. How'd you like these?"

"Oh my God!" Blaine grabbed the red jacket and inspected it with awe. "That jacket is amazing! Kurt's gonna be so jealous when he sees it! Where did you get it from?"

"I bought it after MJ died and there were copies of everything he ever wore flooding the market." Mike shrugged into the jacket and turned up the collar in a casual move.

"Looks great!"

They went downstairs and moved the coffee table and the armchairs to have room for dancing. They spent the next hour working out a routine but then ended up sitting cross-legged on the carpet, talking and laughing. Since Mike was a New Directions member from very early on he could tell a lot of insights and background stories that Blaine hadn't heard yet.

"You know what's cool?" Mike was just saying with a laugh. "We can pretty much pick any song of Michael that we want because with you singing the solo and both of us working on the choreo there's not a lot of room for objection for the other guys."

"What do you think would impress the girls more, something romantic or an upbeat song?"

"How about a bit of both?"

"A mash-up?" Blaine liked the idea.

"The girls are doing a mash up, too," Mike shared. "I overheard Tina talk to Kurt. Apparently the girls have so many songs to choose from they can't decide which one to sing. So they're doing a mash up."

"You're spying on your girlfriend?" Blaine asked mock-scandalized.

"No, actually it's more like she forgets I'm in the room when she's on the phone with one of the other girls or with Kurt. You'd be surprised how much information you get across when you pretend to be asleep."

Blaine had fun talking with Mike but all their laughter couldn't keep Sebastian's earlier visit out of his mind. "Can I ask you something? Do you know if Sebastian talked to anyone of glee club lately?"

"I don't think so," Mike looked surprised. "Why do you think that?"

"He… he knew stuff about me and I'm trying to figure out how he knew."

At once Mike turned serious. "What kind of stuff?"

Blaine sighed. "You remember the argument I had with Sam before Sectionals?"

"Ah, you mean when you were arguing whether to do boyband or selling sexy? If it's about _that_ Sebastian most likely has his info from Brittany's show."

Blaine narrowed his eyes. "Brittany's what?"

"You know that Brittany has a show on youtube called _Fondue for two_, don't you?" Mike asked matter-of-factly. "She had Sam and Mercedes as her guests the other day and Sam talked about how you dismissed his idea for a sexy bodyroll for Sectionals and how you yelled at him that you weren't for sale and how everyone was puzzled about what you meant by that. I guess everyone was shocked to see you freak out like that because you're usually so composed and calm."

Mike shrugged again.

Blaine hid his face in his hands. So much for keeping secrets in McKinley. However, Blaine appreciated that Mike didn't ask as for _why_ Blaine had freaked out on Sam that day.

"I guess I was just annoyed by how Finn shot down all of my ideas and then cheered immediately for Sam. But the actual reason why I overreacted on the idea of displaying myself in that cheap way…" Blaine sighed and ran a hand through his hair, making a few curls come loose. Somehow he felt like he should explain himself if he didn't want Mike to think he was a weirdo.

"When I was at my old high school," he said with a quiet voice. "You know, the one before I got to Dalton… I was bullied for being gay pretty much every day. And there were these kids that thought it was funny to call me a whore. They kept this game up for a long time, they would corner me and ask how much I was worth and what I'd do for a couple of bucks. They… they also forced me to do… stuff." Blaine's voice cracked and he had to clear his throat to be able to talk on, but he hid his true emotions behind a casual shrug and a roll of his eyes.

"And then they went around school telling everyone that I was for sale. They even told the teachers in class that I'd do anything for money but the teachers seemed to think it was an inside joke or something and just laughed along. Well, I guess you can imagine that it was very hurtful and humiliating for me. And then to have Sam suggesting to sell sexy just brought all of that up again."

Blaine looked down at his hands in his lap, he was kneading his fingers, trying to shake of those memories. He didn't even know why he was telling this to Mike. He'd never told anyone before. Blaine realized that he hadn't even told Kurt about this, even after the incident with Sam when Kurt had asked him what it was that bothered him. He hadn't been ready to talk about it then. Besides, Kurt was his boyfriend. He didn't want to burden him with the knowledge of all of the dark spots of his past.

Suddenly he felt embarrassed by sharing all of this with Mike and he let out a forced cheerful laugh. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pour my heart out on you."

"It's okay." Mike gave him a small smile. "I'm sorry to hear that you had such a bad time at your old school. I'm glad you went to Dalton and met Kurt, though. He was extremely unhappy before he met you but since you're in his life he's changed so much for the better. You have no idea. I wasn't actually friends with him back then but even I can tell that he's so much happier now."

The cat was circling Mike and the boy reached out his hand to let her sniff him.

"You know, my grandma says there's always something good coming out of something bad. If you look at it this way maybe all of this crap had to happen so your path could finally cross with Kurt's."

Blaine nodded at this and couldn't help that his eyes were welling up with tears.

"I'm glad you transferred to McKinley," Mike said with a sincere smile while he was busy rubbing Tiffany's back. "It's more fun with you around."

"Thanks." Blaine wiped at his eyes discreetly.

Tiffy climbed up on Mike's shoulders and he balanced her there while he slowly rose to his feet and started dancing across the room.

"By the way, what's going on with Kurt lately?"

"What do you mean?" Blaine looked up in concern. After he accidentally made Kurt think that he wanted to split up Blaine was determined to keep all trouble away from his boyfriend. Which was the more reason he didn't want him to know about Sebastian's persistent advances. He would deal with Sebastian on his own.

Mike took a bow and made the cat walk down his back. "I don't know. I only noticed that something's off with him."

"Like?" Blaine shifted on the ground, hugged his knees and watched his friend slowly straightening up again, causing the cat to climb up on his neck once more.

"He dresses differently."

"Differently?" Since he hadn't seen his boyfriend for the past few school days Blaine needed Mike to elaborate, although it wasn't unusual for Kurt to try out a new style.

"Well, differently in the sense of _normal_," Mike explained with a shrug that made Tiffy wiggle on his neck. "He wears hoodies and blue jeans and sneakers."

"He didn't have much time this morning to choose a fabulous outfit." Blaine answered and added quickly, "So I heard." He blushed a little bit at the memory of sleeping on the couch with Kurt wrapped up in his arms.

"No, that's not it," Mike shook his head and held his arms out in front of him, palms up, letting Tiffany balance across his arms. "He's dressing down for days now, starting with the first day of your suspension. And he's much quieter, he's not his usual sassy self. If I had to put my finger on it I'd say he tries not to draw attention to him."

Blaine felt his stomach churn. Apparently there was more to Kurt's change of outfit than he'd thought. Suddenly he felt sick for making fun of Kurt's clothes this morning.

Mike began spinning slowly around, holding the cat up above his head sitting on his palms. It looked like a figure on ballett. "Tina says it's been really troubling him that you got suspended. Apparently Kurt feels like it's his fault for being _flamboyant_. That's a word Tina used, not me."

Blaine chewed on his lips. He didn't want his boyfriend to change on his behalf.

"I'll talk to him," he murmured more to himself than to his friend.

Mike lowered the cat again and cradled her to his chest, humming a tune and waltzing away.

"What are you doing?" Blaine suddenly exclaimed, grinning. "Are you seriously dancing with my cat?"

"What?" Mike raised Tiffany to his cheek and nuzzled into her white long fur. "Ain't she allowed to dance with other men?"

Blaine got to his feet again. "Shouldn't we be working on a routine?"

They continued trying out different steps and keeping the cat out of their way. They ended up having too much fun and didn't really get something done.

"And I mean Artie's a good guy and stuff, but when he starts discussing dance moves with me, I so wanna tell him to just shut up!" Mike was just telling agitatedly. "And when Finn stumbles across the room like Big Foot I wanna tell him to try and copy this."

Mike did a complicated high speed move that Finn would never in his life be able to copy. Blaine tried to repeat the steps but stumbled and fell into Mike. They both tumbled down on the carpet, rolling with laughter and clutching at each other.

"Blaine, what's going on here?"

Blaine was sober immediately when he heard his mother's voice and looked up to find her standing in the doorway. He tried to imagine how the current scene it must present itself for her, coming home from the drugstore and seeing the two of them entangled on the floor.

And what the hell did she have to buy that had her gone for two hours?

"Mom, hi!" Blaine raised himself up on his elbows and raked one hand through the mess that was his hair. "This is Mike Chang. We're rehearsing for glee club."

"Nice to meet you, Mrs Anderson." Mike was on his feet in a second and offered his hand but Elaine Anderson ignored it. "Blaine, it's a school night."

"Since I'm not going to school this week…" Blaine left his sentence dangling, glowering at his mother.

"Well, I have to go now, Blaine. See you on Saturday I guess? Emergency meeting with the boys, remember?"

They grinned at each other, sharing a joke that was definitely on Finn.

"Good night, Mrs Anderson." Mike nodded at her politely and Blaine saw him to the door, making sure he didn't forget his shoes and made it to his car alright.

He went back to his mother who had settled down on the couch, flicking through a magazine.

"That was pretty rude, don't you think?" Blaine criticized her while he moved around the room to get the furniture back to their original places.

"You can't just invite someone over without asking me first," his mother replied without looking up.

"I'm so sorry," Blaine said in a voice that stated clearly that he wasn't sorry at all. "I forgot that you had Thursday afternoons off."

"That explains a lot. Do you realize how embarrassing it was for me to walk in on you like that?"

"Like _what_? We were practicing dance moves. Excuse me that we had fun and were rolling on the floor laughing!"

"And what about the other boy in your bed? I wonder what your boyfriend says about you meeting other guys? Or are you having an open relationship now?"

"Mom! Mike is just a friend!" Blaine gave the armchair a frustrated shove. "And Sebastian… he's an idiot! If he drops by again I want you to tell him to get lost! And don't let anybody just enter my room! What would you say if I let any stranger in who claims to be a friend of yours and then show him to your bedroom?"

"Are you turning tables on me?" Elaine put her magazine down and looked at him disapprovingly. "I'm not the one cheating on my partner."

"Are you crazy?" Blaine yelled at his mother in utter shock. "I'm not cheating on Kurt!"

"Oh, please," she replied calmly, raising her brows at her son. "You think I don't know what teenage boys are like? It's not that I expect your relationship to last anyway. Still I can't tolerate cheating. It's the most humiliating thing you can do to a person you claim to be in love with."

At a loss for words Blaine sat down into the armchair across from his mother, watching her flick through her magazine again. He felt so defeated all of a sudden. It wasn't that she thought he was capable of cheating on Kurt. It was that she didn't believe in his love for Kurt in the first place.

"Mom, I love him," he said in all seriousness. "I'd never cheat on Kurt."

"Oh, really? You're with him for how long now? A couple of months? And I'm sure you wanna spend the rest of your life with him?"

Blaine swallowed down the hurt of his mother mocking him. "Yes," he replied, staring at her while she had her eyes on the picture of some actress. "If I'm ever so lucky I want to spend my life with him."

"Good luck with that, boo."

Blaine slowly rose to his feet to leave the room. But he stopped in the doorway, one hand at the doorframe when he turned around again. "Mom, Dad told me he was planning some changes. Do you know what he means by that?"

Her eyes got wide as she stared back at him. "What did he tell you?"

"Nothing," Blaine shrugged. "He just said he wants me to get a job and that he doesn't want to pay for my stuff anymore and, well, that he's got some changes in mind."

His mother considered this news for a long moment before she raised her hand to brush her hair back and cleared her throat. "Don't worry about it, boo. Your father is just being silly lately."

With a short nod Blaine left her and went upstairs to call his boyfriend. However the line was occupied, indicating that Kurt was talking to someone else.

With a sigh Blaine started to inspect his room closely. It was like Sebastian had tainted all of his stuff with his sheer presence. And he sat the hell on his bed! Urgh! Blaine worked on changing covers and linen furiously. He hated that Sebastian had managed to get into his house, into his bedroom. It was such a rude breach on privacy but surely Sebastian didn't feel that way.

Thinking about that idiot made Blaine angry again and not reaching Kurt made him frustrated. Who the hell was Kurt talking to? It was already late, way after their usual phone time. Great! When he would finally reach him, Kurt would tell him it was already too late to talk long.

Blaine changed into the T-shirt and shorts he liked to sleep in. He was pacing his room, flexing his arms and hands and tried to calm down. He hated the weird mood swings he was in lately.

Also, he wished he had punched Sebastian some more.

He fantasized about grabbing a baseball bat and crushing more than just Sebastian's balls.

He wished he'd had a baseball bat back then when those bastards had cornered him. He wished he could make them all pay for what they did to him and...

The ring of his phone got him out of his dark thoughts. He picked it up from his nightstand and saw that it was Kurt.

"I've been trying to call you for almost an hour now!" Blaine snapped at his boyfriend. "Who did you talk to for so long?" He didn't mean to sound so pissed off, but he couldn't help it. He just couldn't snap out of his weird mood.

"Sorry, I've been on the phone with Mercedes first and then with Tina and I didn't realize it was this late already. I'm really losing track of time when we emerge into all this important talk about our song choice for the competish. You have no idea how difficult it is to keep the girls off each other's backs! Especially Rachel and Santana, who are going to kill one another sooner or later." Kurt stated dramatically and then laughed. "How was your meeting with Mike?"

"Good. We had fun," Blaine said with a sigh, suddenly feeling tired. His anger subsided when he listened to Kurt's cheerful voice and he slowly relaxed.

He did have a good time and talking to Mike about some crap in his past had left him feeling better, actually, like sharing some of his past ordeals helped mending them. Still, there were too many things tumbling around in his head. Something was wrong with his parents. And something was completely wrong with Sebastian. And all he wanted to do right now was to crawl into Kurt's arms and fall asleep.

"Honey, you sound a bit off. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, sorry, I'm just tired." Blaine lay down on his bed, hugging his pillow with one arm.

"Working at my dad's can be very exhausting," Kurt said with concern. "Why did you look for a job anyway?"

"My dad told me to. He said I'd learn to take on responsibility if I earned my own money."

"Oh. Well, you look darn good in that overall so I have no objections to your choice of career," Kurt chuckled.

"Thanks. Will I get to see you in an overall one day?" Blaine asked flirtiously.

"Not if I can help it." Kurt's giggle sent a shiver down Blaine's spine. While he tried to imagine Kurt in the blue overalls Blaine remembered his conversation with Mike earlier.

"Hey, what's with your clothes lately?"

"What do you mean?" Kurt sounded on guard immediately.

"You know what I mean," Blaine said. "You've been dressing down for a couple of days now."

"It's nothing," Kurt tried to downplay. "I'm just tired of putting an outfit together every morning, that's it."

"No, that's not it. You're trying to blend in, aren't you?"

"Maybe," Kurt admitted. "So what? In Dalton everyone wore uniforms."

"Exactly, and that's why you were so happy when you transfered back to McKinley and you could finally wear your own style again!" Blaine tried to make his point. "All those years you went to McKinley you _never_ suppressed who you were. Why are you doing it now?"

There was a moment of silence and Blaine almost took his words back. He didn't want to make Kurt uncomfortable. If he chose to dress down it was his own business and Blaine would still love him.

"Look, you're right, Blaine," Kurt finally spoke up again. "Ever since the first day I went to McKinley I was fighting for my right to be different. And guess what? I'm so tired of it now. I just wanna enjoy my senior year without having to worry about being slushied or bullied for who I am and what clothes I like to wear. Remember what you said to me before we went to junior prom? You said we don't wanna give anyone a reason to cause any trouble. You were right! You were right and I'm sorry it took me so long to understand but I got it now."

"No, Kurt, I wasn't right about hiding away. I was just being a coward! And I don't want you to take such a huge step backwards on my behalf."

Kurt let out a deep sigh. "And I don't want you to get into trouble just because you're dating the school's obvious queer."

"Kurt, I love your clothes!" Blaine insisted. "I don't want you to change a thing about you just because it's _safer_ to dress like the mainstream."

"It's okay, love. I don't mind," Kurt assured him with a warmth in his voice that had Blaine wanting to reach out and take his hand. "See, once I'm in New York I can wear the most fabulous and extraordinary outfits that I want. I don't need to do it here in Lima. So I'm doing this now and nothing you say can change my mind about it. And now let's talk about something else, okay? Come on, tell me anything, the first thing that comes to mind!"

Blaine let out a sigh. He knew how stubborn his boyfriend could be and that he should better let the topic drop for now. "Okay, guess what? My mom thought that I'm cheating on you with Mike Chang."

"NO! Oh, my God, really?" Now Kurt was laughing out loud. "Gosh, that's hilarious! I gotta tell Tina!"

"However, it's not me but Tiffy who's totally in love with Mike."

"Ah, that evil cat! I thought it hated everyone but you, how come it loves Mike?"

"They danced together!" Blaine said and the grin returned to his features as he listened to Kurt's ranting about the cat. Kurt could spend hours complaining about Tiffany. Blaine listened to it for a couple of minutes until he felt the need to say something else.

"I'm gonna miss you so much," Blaine whispered into the phone when Kurt was just drawing a breath to go on about the cat some more. He caught his boyfriend off guard and it took Kurt a second to register what he'd just said.

"What? When?" Kurt was genuinely confused.

"When you're in New York."

There was silence for a few seconds, drawing out like hours, before Kurt answered. "Let's not talk about that just yet, okay? I haven't even gotten my NYADA letter yet."

"But you will soon and in a few months you'll be gone."

"A few months!" Kurt repeated with a little laugh. "It's half a year, Blaine! So much can still happen and nothing is written in stone yet."

"Well, there's one thing I can tell you for sure already," Blaine countered.

"And what's that?" Kurt asked gently.

"I love you," Blaine breathed into the phone.

"Oh, I love you, too," Kurt said in that soft voice of his that always made Blaine want to hug him and hold him close. Instead Blaine closed his eyes, wishing Kurt was with him right now.

"You know that, don't you?" Kurt emphasized when Blaine didn't repy anything. "I love you, Blaine Anderson. No matter what."

"I know," Blaine finally said, rolling around to bury his cheek into his pillow. "I just wish we could always be together, you know, like live together."

This sweet fantasy earned him a tender chuckle. "Yeah, me, too. But look, tomorrow's Friday! And I guess you remember our plans for Friday night? You think you can survive without me until then?"

"That's twenty four hours, Kurt. I'll try my best but I can't promise anything."

"You'll make it," Kurt replied with warmth. Blaine loved to hear that smile in Kurt's voice. "I have faith in you."

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><p><strong>Hello everyone! Thanks so much for reading! If you liked this please review! :D<strong>

**_Normallyweirdm_, thank you ever so much for helping me editing this thing! You are amazing! Can't wait to read your next chapter of _White Blank Page_, so please update soon! :***


	19. The Way You Make Me Feel

**WARNING: Hi everyone! This chapter turned out very angsty in the end. So if any of you aren't in the mood for angst, you should wait until I get the next two chapters out and then read all in one rush because I promise everything that goes wrong in this chapter will be fixed again within the next two chapters. **

**To everyone who enjoys some good ol' blangst, enjoy! ;)**

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><p><strong>The Way You Make Me Feel<strong>

On Friday Blaine couldn't concentrate on one task at hand. It didn't help that he was working on a car together with Burt and the mechanic was trying to explain some techniques to him while all he could think of was an embarrassing 'Tonight's the night, I'm gonna have sex with your son'.

Of course Burt noticed that the boy was anywhere but where he was supposed to be and asked him if everything was alright, a question which had Blaine blush and stutter an incomprehensive, "I'm fine, thanks," before he excused himself for the restroom and cursed himself in there for five minutes.

Around lunch time Burt approached him and lowered his voice, saying, "Say, has Kurt told you about his plans considering New York yet?"

Blaine must have looked like a complete idiot, staring at Burt for a long second before replying, "Uhm, no, what plans?"

"Not mine to tell," Burt backtracked with a sigh. "I'm sorry I mentioned it. He meant to tell you himself."

This quick exchange left Blaine pondering for hours. What did Burt mean by plans for New York? Which plans apart from NYADA? Kurt didn't talk much about New York lately, apart from the occasional _Life's gonna be so much better when I'm finally in New York_ talk.

Surely Kurt's news had to be something bad, something Blaine wouldn't like or else Kurt would've told him already. Now, what should he make of this? Was Kurt keeping secrets from him? And why had Burt sounded so sad when he'd brought the topic up? Was Kurt planning to break up with him before he leaves for New York? Was he already talking about it with his family? Had he already made up his mind about it? No, no, no!

Blaine grew desperate. Perhaps Kurt had spared him the bad news until now because Blaine had been such a wuss in the past few days and Kurt was too kind to break up with him when he was at a low spot.

So Blaine had still a chance to change Kurt's mind, he had still a chance at making Kurt love him so much that he'll forget about his break up plans. Okay, there'd better be no talk about New York tonight, Blaine told himself.

_I'm gonna sweep him off his feet, I'm gonna make him so happy that he'll never want to leave me, I'm gonna make love to him..._ Blaine was so eager to finally make it happen. He realized he wanted to connect with Kurt in this intimate wonderful way, he wanted to be closer than they already were, he wanted them to share something they didn't share with anyone else.

Burt told him to take the afternoon off, so Blaine headed home earlier than originally planned. It was no good thing since Kurt would only come over at seven and now Blaine had too much time on his hands to spend and his nervousness grew with every second.

The only good thing was that his father was already on his way to Chicago where he was attending a conference for the weekend and his mother was out of town for the weekend, too.

He changed the bedding again to a color which he thought was more sensual. Would he and Kurt really sleep for the first time together tonight?

Blaine took his time to shower and wash his hair. Afterwards he put no product in. The last few times they had made out Kurt had complained about all the gel sticking to his fingers when he wanted to dug them into Blaine's hair or caress his neck, and because Blaine wanted Kurt's hands all over his body from head to toe he had settled for no gel on special occasions.

He was just cleaning the kitchen when the front door opened and his mother came in. Blaine stared at her in shock. "What are you doing here?"

"Excuse me, but I live here," she replied with a confused smile.

"Yeah but didn't you want to drive to Aunt Eleanor's for the weekend?"

"That's next weekend." She noticed the way his face fell and a smug smile tucked at the corners of her mouth. "What? Am I disturbing your plans?"

"Uhm, no," Blaine lied and shrugged. "Kurt's coming over, though. We're, uhm, watching a movie."

"I won't be in your way." She said, walking past him, then stopped short and turned around again. "Something's different with your hair," she said observantly, squinting her eyes.

"No gel," Blaine replied and self-consciously ran a hand through his curls. Luckily his parents didn't know that his undone hair meant he expected his boyfriend for some sexy times.

"Ah, that's it." Elaine nodded and went over to the fridge. Blaine put the cleaning cloth away and watched his mother helping herself to a glass of cold apple juice. He drew up some courage to ask her an important question.

"Tell me something, Mom. Why don't you like Kurt?"

"I never said I didn't like him," she replied and went over to the living room.

"You never said you liked him either," Blaine countered, following her.

"Oh Blainers, what do you want me to do?" Elaine asked in an exasperated tone, sitting down on her favorite spot on the couch. "Invite him over for dinner? Show him baby photos of you? Why should I bother when you say that he's going to New York anyway?"

Blaine stared at his mother for a moment, shaking his head eventually with a small laugh. "Yeah, he's going to New York but that doesn't mean we're breaking up. We'll have a long distance relationship then."

Elaine chuckled softly at this as she reached for the remote. "I'm not sure if I admire your innocent optimism or pity your stupidness. A long distance relationship? Really? Those never work out, Blaine. Believe me, before he leaves for New York he'll break up with you. Or do you think he'll want to take luggage with him?"

"Kurt and I have plans," Blaine told his mother sternly. "I'm gonna follow him to New York."

"And you think he'll wait for you?" Elaine asked incrediously. "I don't think so. He may say it now, but life changes, Blainers. People change. And New York definitely will change him."

Blaine folded his arms across his chest uncomfortably. Her words struck him because the exact same thoughts were already tumbling around in his head for a while now. He just hadn't dared speaking them out loud.

"Why are you being so mean to me?"

"Excuse me, but someone has to call you out on your illusions." Elaine sighed and gave him a pitiful look. "It's time you faced reality. This is high school love, Blaine. It won't last. You want some piece of advice? Break up with him before he dumps you. He's probably thinking about the best way to break up with you already. Besides, don't you already have other options at hand? That Dalton boy from yesterday was quite good-looking, mind you."

Blaine let out a huff and was about to start ranting how annoying and disgusting Sebastian Smythe was.

Just then the doorbell rang and Blaine headed to answer it.

Kurt was standing outside with the most beautiful smile on his face and the most awful oversized darkgrey hoodie deforming his body. It was a painful sight to see Kurt in something as dreadful as that and Blaine would lay his hand into fire that this piece of clothing was out of Finn's wardrobe.

"I'm so sorry that I'm late."

"Come on in," Blaine held the door for him. "My Mom's home," he added in a whisper and pulled a face.

There was a fleeting look of disappointment on Kurt's face, hastily replaced by a bright smile. "Good thing I brought you homework."

"Homework?" Blaine raised his brows questioningly and Kurt elaborated. "Rory gave me his notes of the classes you share."

"Yay!" Blaine pseudo-cheered. "I didn't invite you over to do homework under your watch."

Kurt shrugged out of his puffy vest and hung it up on the coatrack. Blaine had to keep himself from saying something rude, because seriously, Kurt? A red puffy vest over a grey hoodie? How low can you get?

"Hi, Mrs Anderson. It's nice to see you again." Kurt waved at Blaine's mother who had appeared in the doorway of the salon.

"It's been a while," Elaine replied with a tight smile. "Blaine seems to invite his friends over only when I'm not at home."

"Well, that's easy since you're never at home," Blaine shot back.

Elaine raised her brows at him and crossed her arms. "Oh, I'm sure you don't mind my absence since it makes it easy for you to have lots and lots of company."

Blaine avoided Kurt's questioning gaze and bit his tongue before something else slipped out. "We'll be upstairs."

Blaine took Kurt's hand and dragged him along.

The second they were in his room Blaine wrapped his arms around Kurt and kissed him. "I missed you," he murmured against Kurt's mouth and Kurt curled his lips up into a sweet smile.

"I missed you, too. It's so dull in school without you around to brighten up my day."

"I'm so sorry," Blaine muttered and tightened his embrace. "Next week I'll be with you again." He captured Kurt's mouth once more. Kurt hummed appreciatively against Blaine's lips and lifted his arms to return the embrace and let his fingers run through Blaine's hair.

They deepened the kiss and Blaine felt like all his worries and stress washed away. In Kurt's arms he could forget about everything and concentrate only on the feeling of their tongues dancing and their hands exploring.

Kurt drew back when he felt something move between their legs. He stepped back and pointed to Tiffany who was now rubbing her back against Blaine's shin, trying to gain his attention.

"The cat must leave," Kurt ordered and Blaine chuckled.

"The cat must leave," he repeated in confirmation and scooped Tiffany up to carry her out of his room. "Be right back!"

Blaine carried the white ball of fur downstairs and fed her in the kitchen, hoping that the cat would be content and leave them alone. "There, there, girl, don't be disappointed, but Kurt and I wanna share some alone time together without a witness," he whispered to her. Then he checked in the living room where his mother was watching TV and ran upstairs again.

He was humming a tune when he returned to his bedroom.

Kurt had put his satchel on the floor next to Blaine's bed and was walking slowly across the room, letting his fingers run over the CD covers next to Blaine's stereo and the DVDs of _Moonwalk_ and _This is it._

"The way you make me feel," Blaine began to sing and went on with a little sensual growl, "you really _turn_ me on…"

Kurt seemed amused by his musical impromptu by Michael Jackson.

Snapping his fingers to the beat in his head Blaine danced around his boyfriend. "You knock me off of my feet, my lonely days are gone."

Kurt raised an eyebrow at his boyfriend as if asking, _What are you doing?_ But the smile tugging at the corners of his mouth betrayed him, he loved being serenaded by Blaine.

"I like the feelin' you're givin' me  
>Just hold me baby and I'm in ecstasy<p>

I never felt so in love before  
>Just promise baby, you'll love me forevermore<p>

I swear I'm keepin' you satisfied  
>'Cause you're the one for me"<p>

Blaine stopped in front of Kurt, a huge smile on his face and ready to do some more kissing.

"Let me guess," Kurt gave Blaine a smug grin. "The boys do a Michael Jackson number for the girls vs boys competition."

"Oh fuck!"

Kurt raised an eyebrow at him with a smirk playing on his lips. "Language, honey."

"We're not doing Michael. Why would you think we're doing Michael?" Blaine tried to save what could be saved.

Kurt smirked even more. "I know you. When you prepare for a number you do a lot of research. And you can't keep the song out of your head. Also I happen to know that both Artie and Mike adore Michael Jackson so it's not really surprising you'd come up with him."

Blaine hung his head. "Please don't tell the girls."

"Or what?" Kurt teased him.

"Or I won't kiss you for the next three weeks!" Blaine threatened.

Kurt laughed at that. "You won't do that. If I've learned one thing about Blaine Anderson it's that he's not one for celibacy."

"I can resist you, Kurt Hummel."

"You can't."

"I can."

"Then look at me now and tell me you don't want to kiss me," Kurt challenged and they locked eyes.

Kurt had his head tilted and looked up at him from underneath his eyelashes, smiling just a tiny bit, a spark in his blue eyes.

Blaine couldn't help it. He stepped forward, captured Kurt's face with both hands and kissed him. Damn the competition, the feel of Kurt's lips on his own was more worth to him than winning.

"Don't worry, I won't tell the girls," Kurt promised in all earnesty and drew back a little to look into Blaine's eyes. "I would never turn something you tell me against you."

A pang of pure love made Blaine's heart pound faster. There was his wonderful amazing boyfriend who said he'd never turn on him. Words like these meant something to you if you had parents that just turned on you.

"Even if I told you that I still don't like your new style?"

"Blaine…" Kurt sighed.

"Look, I get it, you wanna dress down for school but why are you wearing these clothes when you meet up with me?"

"I'm sorry I didn't have time to change," Kurt sighed, sounding tired. "The girls and I had an emergency meeting after school so when I finally got home I only had a couple of minutes to grab a few things before I hit the road to your house. Besides," a cheeky smile played along the corners of his mouth, "I figured it didn't matter what I wore anyway because I wasn't planning on keeping my clothes on for long."

Blaine laughed at that. Too bad his mother was home or else he would have torn Kurt's clothes off in this second.

"Emergency meeting, huh? What's the drama?"

"Sugar joined us today," Kurt declared with a deep sigh. "And she had a bunch of ideas in that crazy head of hers. For one, she tried to convince us to do _Spice Girls_." Kurt rolled his eyes. "Her line of reasoning was that since the band has split up the _Spice Girls_ are practically dead so we can use their songs. Also she said that we all desperately needed to _spice up our lives_. To make a long story short she turned everything we'd achieved so far upside down and talking to her about it is exhausting. You have no idea!"

There was more than just a hint of annoyance in Kurt's voice, making Blaine wonder if there was more to this story than Kurt led on. Whatever the case, he looked like he could use some cheering up. With a wide grin on his face Blaine tackled his boyfriend and pushed him down on the bed.

"The cat didn't lay on the bed, did she?" Kurt started to move to inspect Blaine's bed closely but Blaine grabbed his boyfriend's feet and pulled his shoes off. He dropped the sneakers on the floor and climbed over to straddle Kurt.

"No, she didn't. I changed the bedding only an hour ago." Blaine knew how Kurt despised the hair the cat left everywhere and got stuck on Kurt's clothes.

Blaine attacked Kurt's mouth with kisses.

"… mmh, your mom… downstairs…" Kurt managed to say between Blaine's hot kisses.

Blaine grunted in frustration. This was so unfair. All week long his parents were out and on Friday night when he finally had time to share some precious togetherness with Kurt his mother decided to stay home.

"So what? We're fully clothed and we're just kissing..."

"I wouldn't call it just kissing," Kurt countered with a wry smile. "You're aiming to turn me on and you're quite successful at that, too. The only problem is that the door's open and your mom's in the house."

"Yeah, but with the door open we can hear it when she approaches." Blaine leaned back down. "By the way I don't like it when you're in my bed and still able to talk in such long sentences…"

He pushed Kurt back into the pillows and captured his lips once more while his hands went off exploring Kurt's slender body.

Blaine always kept his door open. Mostly because Tiffy would start complaining if the door was closed. The cat needed the freedom to come and go as it pleased her. Also Blaine liked to hear his parents move in the house to know he wasn't alone. Whenever his door was closed he felt trapped, closed off of the world.

Furthermore his parents had an open door policy regarding his room which resulted from the fact that the house was huge and his father would get mad if he had to call out for Blaine more than two times. So he kept his door ajar in case he was being called for.

"Blaine..." Kurt shied away with a blush. "I can't stop thinking that your mom's downstairs..."

Kurt shifted to put a little bit of distance between them, he was still lying on his back but his knees were bent and legs closed together like a wall between them. Blaine put his hands on the top of Kurt's knees and rested his chin on them.

"Do you have any idea how hard it is _not_ to kiss you?"

Kurt giggled at this and didn't object when Blaine started stroking his legs. Kurt was wearing skin-tight black jeans and Blaine let his hands run sensually across the fabric. Starting from the top of Kurt's knees he slowly opened his boyfriend's legs and let his hands brush down the insides of Kurt's thighs as he gently pushed his legs further apart. He moved forward, lifting Kurt's hips to rest on his lap while his greedy hands continued to feel up Kurt's ass and the front of his jeans. Blaine realized that if they were naked now this would be the perfect position to make love.

"You know even though we're fully dressed," Kurt started with a low voice and his eyes glimmered with hardly conceiled desire, "this isn't a position your mom should see us in."

"Do I look like I care?" Blaine murmured and leaned forward between Kurt's legs to kiss him and hummed appreciatively into the kiss when Kurt tightened his legs around his waist to hold him close. He decided he liked being trapped between Kurt's legs.

A throat was cleared in the doorway and the boys jolted apart.

Blaine let go of Kurt and sat up to turn to his mother. Kurt straightened his shirt and hoodie as he sat up, too. From the way he blushed he was immensely embarrassed.

"Don't worry about me, that's a familiar sight just lately," Blaine's mother said with a snort, making Kurt wonder.

"If this is about Mike Chang, I can assure you Mike isn't gay, Mrs Anderson," Kurt told her, remembering what Blaine had been telling him. "He has a very sweet girlfriend."

"I'm not talking about the Asian kid," Mrs Anderson said and raised a brow. "I'm talking about the Dalton student who was in your place just yesterday."

Kurt looked up at Blaine who bit his lips. "Is there anything you want, Mom?"

"My office called. They have a problem with a paper that's due tomorrow morning so I need to check in again. Guess I'll be gone for a couple of hours." She lingered on the threshold as if wanting to say some more.

"Is there anything else?" Blaine asked rather unfriendly, a challenge in his voice.

Elaine brushed a dark curl behind her ear. "I guess it would be too much to ask you to behave yourself, Blaine?"

Blaine got to his feet and crossed his arms. "You have to be more specific."

Elaine shook her head in resignation and turned to leave. "At least neither of you can get pregnant," she muttered under her breath as she hurried down the hallway.

Blaine boiled over and ran after her. "What did you just say?"

She turned around with the same pissed off look on her face as on her son's. "You think I'm stupid? You think I don't know what you invited that boy over for? What do you want to hear me say, Blaine? You want me to approve?"

"_That boy_ has a name! He's my boyfriend! I'm sorry if you can't accept that!"

"Oh, don't talk to me like I was homophobic. I wouldn't approve of this if Kurt was a girl either. But I know I can't stop you. You're just like your father! You do whatever you want to do without checking consequences first. Just note that I don't like you sleeping around! You think I want to watch you dying of AIDS?"

There was a stunned silence in which Blaine didn't know what to say. All his fight puffed into thin air again and he just wanted to crawl into a hole and cry.

"I'm sorry, Blainers," his mother said quickly after her outburst. "Look, I'm tired and stressed out and I have a long night in front of me. Let's talk tomorrow, alright? I have a deadline to take care of. I really need to go now."

"Well then you should get going," Blaine replied with a small voice.

"Give us a kiss, boo." Elaine pointed to her cheek and Blaine leaned in to kiss his mother's cheek and received a lip-smack in return. He watched her hurry downstairs, grab her coat and keys and close the door behind her. When she was gone Blaine leaned against the wall and closed his eyes.

"Should I leave?"

Blaine opened his eyes and turned his head. Kurt was standing in the threshold of his room, looking at him with big troubled eyes.

"No." Blaine pushed himself off the wall and went over to his boyfriend, leaning his head on Kurt's shoulder, Kurt's arms flew up to embrace him and Blaine was melting into the embrace.

"I'm sorry you had to hear that," Blaine murmured into Kurt's shoulder. "Now you know where my cowardice comes from. I inherited it from my Mom."

"You're no coward, Blaine. Neither is your Mom. She just doesn't know how to deal with this."

"She's always running away." They went back into Blaine's room. Kurt settled down on the bed while Blaine paced the floor. "She hates me."

"I didn't get the feeling that she hates you," Kurt replied gently.

"She's disappointed that her only child is gay," Blaine stated and a look of deep hurt made his eyes glisten.

Kurt shook his head slowly. "She's worried about you, Blaine. Apparently she has heard all those prejudices about gays and is confused." Kurt gave a one-sided shrug and an encouraging smile. "Perhaps you should educate her and make her understand that she doesn't have to worry about you fooling around because you're in a solid relationship."

The last few words made Blaine's heart pound faster. _Are we in a solid relationship?_ He wanted to ask but he was too scared of the answer. He turned around and put both hands on the smooth surface of the closet mirror, framing his face.

"She used to kiss me, you know, little affectionate pecks on the mouth. Ever since she knows that I'm gay she hasn't kissed me on the mouth anymore. She's disgusted, because she knows I'm kissing another boy."

Kurt was silent for a moment. "Perhaps it's not disgust but respect. She doesn't want to treat you like a child anymore. Finn always struggles with hands and feet to avoid being kissed by Carole. He says it's embarrassing."

"She never speaks out your name," Blaine said quietly, leaning his forehead against the mirror. "She just says _your_ _boyfriend_." Blaine huffed and his breath clouded his image. "She hates you."

Blaine stopped when he realized what he'd just said. He didn't mean to make Kurt feel hated and unwelcome. Quickly he turned around to face his boyfriend and make amends. "No, I mean she doesn't hate _you _in particular, I think she just hates the image of me having a boyfriend. Plus she thinks I'm sleeping around! Just because she sees me with another guy she jumps to conclusions."

"She mentioned you had someone from Dalton over?" Kurt's voice was level, not accusing or mistrusting, still the question send Blaine reeling.

Blaine bit his tongue. It would have been easy now to say it had just been David or Wesley and then call them later to cover up for him. But Blaine had never lied to Kurt before and wouldn't start doing it now.

"It was Sebastian," he said through gritted teeth and noticed how Kurt's eyes widened in shock.

"He came uninvited!" Blaine went on, suddenly feeling defensive and raising his voice, before Kurt could say something. "And he thought it was freaking funny to tackle me on my bed. Right in that moment my mom walked in and she doesn't believe me when I say nothing happened!"

Blaine clenched his fits. He was angry with his mom for blurting it out in front of Kurt. He was angry with Sebastian for tackling him in the first place. But most of all he was angry with himself for not telling Kurt sooner and putting himself into such a suspicious position. All this anger bottled up and made him bark at Kurt. "What? You don't believe me either?"

"Of course I believe you," Kurt assured him quickly. "I'm just worried. He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"I can handle him." Blaine crossed his arms in front of his chest and tilted his head. "Look, I know I should've told you about this but I didn't want you to worry about me."

Kurt sighed. "I was wondering just the other day if he'd stopped bothering you because you didn't say anything about him anymore. Looks like he hasn't given up yet?"

"Yeah, he's just... he annoys me is all. But don't worry, I'll keep him at bay. He's lucky if I don't beat him up next time I see him." This was meant to be funny but Kurt wasn't laughing.

"Are you sure you're okay? You've been kind of different lately." Kurt's eyes bore into Blaine's, trying to get a glimpse into his dark soul. "Is there more to the situation with Sebastian than you're telling me?"

"I'm not cheating on you!" Blaine got defensive again.

"I know," Kurt confirmed with a nod. "That's not what I was thinking at all. I'm just worried if he's pressuring you or something. He strikes me as the type to play dirty."

"I told you I can handle him," Blaine replied angry. "I didn't tell you about him before because I didn't want to bother you with this."

"It's okay, I just wish you'd feel that you could confide in me with anything." Kurt let out a sigh and ran a hand lightly over his bangs. "I know you wouldn't cheat on me, Blaine. It's Sebastian whom I don't trust. He's so into you." With another sigh Kurt shook his head slowly. "I mean I can't blame him to be into you because you're simply amazing but he should respect that you're taken."

Then Kurt sat back and played with the drawstrings of his hooded sweatshirt.

Blaine looked down at Kurt and all of a sudden it dawned on him: He made Kurt's life miserable.

Starting with West Side Story. Kurt had fought so hard to get the male lead. And whom was it simply given to?

Kurt felt the need to dress down in school so no one would bother them and they could have a _normal_ school life. It was Blaine's fault that Kurt's life at McKinley was horrible again. If he hadn't transferred Kurt would be much better off.

Also Kurt couldn't even enjoy the prospect of getting to New York because his stupid junior boyfriend couldn't come with him.

Furthermore, Kurt had to watch his boyfriend have a persistent admirer while there was no one flattering him and making him feel wanted. Blaine was supposed to make Kurt happy but instead all he did was make Kurt's life complicated and hard, making him doubt himself and lose his self-esteem.

Blaine realized that this was the way he made his boyfriend feel.

That's the reason why Kurt was slipping away from him.

He got it now. And he didn't want that. He wanted to make him feel good, special, loved. Instead all he did was making Kurt regret that he'd transferred to McKinley. Suddenly Blaine felt helpless and panicked and he started pacing his room again, chewing the insides of his cheeks.

It wasn't his fault that Artie had as much as forced the role of Tony on him.

It wasn't his fault that Sebastian followed him around trying to get into his pants.

It wasn't his fault that he was still a junior. He had spend half a year in hospital! He had been beaten half to death. It had been out of his control. He didn't have control over any of this!

"Let's not talk about this anymore tonight." Kurt changed subject with a tiny smile and rummaged in his satchel, getting books and paper out. "If you want to I can help you with your homework assignments. Since I've already had these topics last year I should be able to tell you all the answers and you'll be done with it in a second and have more free time for the rest of the weekend."

"Why, thank you!" Blaine snarled at Kurt. "Why don't you mention the fact that I'm a stupid fucking junior once more, Kurt? Just one more time! I love to be reminded of it."

Kurt stared up at him. "Stop being a jerk, Blaine. I didn't mean to offend you. I just wanted to help."

"I don't need your help with my stupid homework!"

"Alright then." Kurt tossed the books on the floor and lay back on the bed with a sigh, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I can't believe you actually brought homework along like you'd expected our original plans to flop," Blaine went on challenging.

"I like to be prepared for any circumstances," Kurt replied with a shrug.

Blaine hopped on the bed, making Kurt bounce on the mattress. Without asking he snatched Kurt's bag and opened it. "Let's see if you're prepared for our original plans then. Any condoms in here? Lube? Sextoys?"

"Blaine!" Kurt exclaimed as he sat up again and claimed his satchel back.

Blaine was turning the bag upside down, spilling its contents onto the bed. "Doesn't look like it. Were you even planning on having sex with me or did you have an excuse in your backpocket?"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Kurt was clearly pissed as he reached for his things and stuffed them all back into his satchel. "For one, you invited me over so I expect you to provide protection. And second, here! There you go!" Kurt opened a side pocket of his satchel and produced a handful of condoms and a little tube of lube out of it, throwing the items at Blaine. "Are you happy now?" he snapped at Blaine.

Blaine just shook his head. "You looked so relieved when I told you my Mom was home," he pointed out accusingly.

Kurt let out a frustrated huff and shook his head slowly. "Blaine, why do you think I wouldn't want to sleep with you? It's a big step, yeah, and I'm nervous about it, but I wanna do it. That is, before you started to act all crazy on me."

"I'm sorry," Blaine murmured and leaned forward to kiss Kurt once more. Kurt was reluctant to return the kiss but wouldn't throw him off either. But Blaine wanted him to _want_ to kiss him back, he needed him to still love him.

"Stop it, please." Kurt put a hand on Blaine's chest to keep him at bay.

"Why? My Mom's gone!" Blaine started to reason. "We have a couple of hours to ourselves. We can do anything we want!"

"I don't like it when you're angry."

"I'm not angry," Blaine claimed. "Please, just let me kiss you."

Blaine began kissing Kurt in a rough and demanding kind of way. He crawled on top of him and grabbed his arms to keep him down but then Kurt started pushing him away. "Blaine, I don't..."

Blaine silenced him again with another forceful kiss. _Please let me love you, Kurt, let me love you, don't slip away from me._ Kurt had enjoyed being kissed earlier, why didn't he like it now!

"Ouch!" Kurt shoved his boyfriend off of him. "Geez, Blaine you bit me!" Kurt touched his lip with his fingertips and found that it was bleeding.

Blaine stared at him for a long second, then jumped off the bed and slammed his hands against the closet doors once more, resting his forehead on the mirror.

Blaine breathed deeply to get calm. His eyes found Kurt's in the mirror. His boyfriend was sitting up in the bed, his fingers fumbling with the shirt underneath his hoodie Blaine had messed with. What was he doing to Kurt? He felt like he was going insane.

"I'm sorry about your lip," Blaine skitted over next to Kurt again and placed a kiss on Kurt's cheek. "I'm sorry, baby."

"It's okay," Kurt replied wearily and scooted to the end of the bed, grabbing for his bag.

"Oh, alright, I understand," Blaine said, his anger rising once more. "It's okay because it gives you the perfect excuse to leave!"

"Who said anything about leaving?" Kurt asked with a roll of his eyes and produced a tissue out of his bag.

Blaine began chewing his lips, he had misinterpreted Kurt's movement.

Kurt just stared at him, pressing the tissue on his lip. "Blaine please, why won't you tell me what's wrong?"

Blaine huffed and looked away. _You mean that I have a father who'd rather has me raped than helping me? A mother who thinks I'm a whore? A boyfriend who's leaving for New York without looking back? _

"It's no use. Talking about it doesn't change a thing," Blaine replied with a shrug.

Kurt stared at him for a long moment, then shook his head slowly and sighed tiredly. "If you don't want to talk about it, fine. But if it has something to do with me, I think I have a right to know. I just don't understand why you're so mad at me."

Kurt looked down at the red blotch on his tissue and gingerly touched his lip with his fingertips. "Blaine, I want you to tell me when you're mad at me for whatever reason. You know I'll still love you."

Blaine snorted. "Don't say it unless you mean it."

Kurt stared at him for a long speechless second. "I LOVE YOU!" Kurt repeated angrily. "Even though you're acting like a jackass right now!" With a huff he gathered his shoes from the carpet and grabbed his bag. "I think I'd better go now."

"Yeah, go! Just leave me why don't you?" Blaine yelled at him. "It's what you're gonna do anyway, right?"

Kurt stopped and arched his eyebrows at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're the one going to New York. You tell me!"

Kurt's shoulders sagged and he sighed. "I think we should talk about this tomorrow after you've had a good night's rest."

"What's there to talk about?"

"Apparently a lot," Kurt insisted, his voice turning soft. "Blaine you're expecting everyone to hurt you. But I'm not gonna be one of them. I'm not gonna hurt you."

Blaine got to his feet again. "Oh yeah? How about you acting like everything's gonna be alright when you go to New York. But it won't! I already miss you just thinking about it! I'm even thinking about dropping out of school just to be able to follow you! I can't be away from you for one whole year, Kurt. The thought of you leaving terrifies me! I can't do that distance relationship thing. I can't! I need you, but apparently you don't need me at all. You don't spend endless nights awake thinking about all this and despair about every day that brings you closer to New York! No, you don't have second thoughts about this at all!"

"That's not true," Kurt said with hurt in his voice when Blaine finally stopped his rant to draw a breath. "Actually I've been thinking about it a lot lately and..."

"AND WHAT?" Blaine cut him off with a bitter laugh. "Now you're gonna suggest skyping every day and weekend visits! How about phone sex, Kurt? But wait, you don't even wanna have sex with me in real life so why bother have sex over the phone?"

"Go on like this and I really won't want to have sex with you anytime soon." Kurt crossed his arms.

"That's all you have to say?" Blaine asked incredulously.

"Blaine, you're angry," Kurt pointed out wearily. "You think I can start reasoning with you when you're angry? You'll twist my words around as you please!"

Blaine started pacing his room again, restless and upset. "You'll meet new people, Kurt! You'll meet another guy who's gonna be so new and exciting and one day you'll tell me that life has made us grow apart and then I'm gonna lose you."

"Blaine, that's not fair!" Kurt exclaimed. "You're accusing me of something that hasn't even happened yet! Something that _won't_ happen! You're making problems up in your head!"

"Am I?" Blaine laughed hysterically. "Fine. Then I'd like to hear your version of happily ever after."

Kurt sat down on the bed again, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath to calm himself. "To tell the truth I've been thinking about all of this just lately, too, and I have to admit that I have the same concerns about long distant relationships. I even talked to my dad and to Carole about it and..."

"No, stop it! I don't wanna hear what you have to say!" Blaine cut him off. He leaned back against his closet and kicked his foot at the door of it. _He's breaking up with me, he's really breaking up with me!_

"Blaine… please, let me finish…"

"No, I don't need to hear anymore of this because you know what? I'll make it easy for you! SCREW YOU KURT!"

Kurt bit down on his lips and slowly rose to his feet, picking his shoes off the floor again and dragging his bag off the bed with him. "I'd better go now..."

"Yeah, go! Get outta here! Leave!" Blaine yelled after his boyfriend and as soon as the words left his mouth he felt nauseated. It was like someone else entirely had taken over his body and he was standing right next to himself, watching with horror how this crazy angry person screamed at his boyfriend.

Just as Kurt walked out the door Blaine turned around and slammed his fist into the mirror with all the hurt and fury inside of him.

With a loud crack the mirror burst into pieces. The noise and the sudden pain in his hand brought Blaine back to his senses. Blaine stood there frozen, looking down at the pieces of shattered glass at his feet and then up into the remaining pieces of the mirror.

_Who are you?_ Who was this angry monster?

"Blaine, your hand!"

Kurt was standing in the doorway, his eyes wide with shock, one hand on the handle and one hand clutching his sneakers to his heart.

Blaine looked down at his hand, his knuckles were scratched and bleeding.

Kurt dropped his belongings and hurried forward. "Let me help you…"

"Don't!" Blaine yanked his arm away. "It's nothing!"

"You're bleeding!" Kurt insisted.

"I'm fine," Blaine huffed.

"No, you're not! Let me see it!"

"I said I'm okay!" Blaine shouted, feeling utterly embarrassed by his violent and juvenile outburst. "It's just a scratch!"

For a second Kurt just stood there, not knowing what to do, then he came closer, moving to bend down. "Okay then at least let me pick up the pieces…"

"No!" Blaine stepped forward and pushed him away. Kurt was only on socks and Blaine didn't want him to hurt himself on the sharp pieces of the broken mirror. Unfortunately he'd shoved Kurt harder than he'd meant to and Kurt stumbled backwards and hit the waist-high dresser. A framed picture tipped over from the impact.

"Oh, my God, Kurt, I didn't mean to..." Blaine was at Kurt's side in a second. "Are you alright?"

Kurt rubbed his hip with one hand. Judging from the scrunched up look on his face the crash must have been painful. "I'm okay," he murmured with a low voice, avoiding Blaine's glance.

"I didn't mean to push you, I just didn't want you to step into the broken glass," Blaine tried to explain desperately.

"I know, it's okay," Kurt replied and turned to leave once more. "I should get on my way." He retrieved his satchel and shoes from the floor and made his way out of Blaine's room.

"You don't need to go!" In a sudden panic Blaine followed him, almost stumbling down the stairs in his eagerness. In the little entry hall of the house Kurt put his shoes on and took his puffy vest off the rack. Blaine caught hold of Kurt's arm. "Please, stay."

"I think it's best that I go for now," Kurt said, his voice thick with emotion and his eyes glassy with unshed tears. "Let's talk tomorrow, when you've calmed down and..."

"I am calm, please stay, I'm calm now," Blaine begged. "I won't yell at you again. I don't know what's gotten into me! Just please!"

He followed Kurt outside to his car, feeling like a lost puppy, trying to make him stay. But when Kurt opened the door of his car and tossed his satchel to the passenger seat Blaine noticed that Kurt was close to tears and fighting hard to hold himself together.

It made Blaine want to hug him and hold him and promise him that everything was going to be alright, but he was afraid that Kurt would back off of him if he tried to touch him. He realized that Kurt needed some space and he had to give him that, although it was a hard thing to do when all you needed for yourself was closeness.

"Alright," Blaine said hoarsely and it took all his strength to let Kurt go. "Text me when you're home, alright? And please forgive me for being such a jerk."

"Blaine, it's alright." Kurt promised with a tired voice. "We've both just had a really bad day. Let's talk again tomorrow."

Blaine nodded eagerly. "First thing in the morning. I'll come to your house. We can go for a coffee somewhere..."

"You have an emergency meeting with the guys, remember? Breakfast at the Lima Bean? Finn's been talking about it for days." A little smile curled up Kurt's lips. "Let's get in touch afterwards."

Blaine gnawed at his lower lip, he felt all numb and powerless. "I'll text you then. Kurt, I'm really sorry and..." Blaine didn't say that he loved him although he desperately wanted to say it. But right in this moment he was overwhelmed by the fear that Kurt might not say it back. "Goodnight."

Kurt nodded with a brave smile on his lips but there were still tears glistening in his blue eyes. He got into his car and started down the driveway.

"Drive safe!" Blaine shouted out and Kurt held his hand up, acknowledging his words.

Suddenly his legs were too weak to carry him and Blaine sat down on the curb, watching the lights of Kurt's car vanish down the road. He raked his hands into his hair and choked down a sob.

Oh, God, what had he done? How could he talk to Kurt like he just had? He didn't need Sebastian to ruin their relationship. He was doing a pretty good job himself.

How had they gone from love making to almost breaking up?

How was it possible to go from being completely fine to feeling like utter crap in the space of a few hours? Blaine felt like a rope was bound around his heart and someone was pulling at it, squeezing his heart until it hurt, until it was unbearable.

Slowly getting to his feet again, Blaine stumbled back towards his house and realized that he was all alone now.

He couldn't stay in this house all by himself. He couldn't be alone tonight. So he grabbed his jacket and his keys and said goodnight to his cat that was lingering in the kitchen door, watching his every move. "Sorry, Tiff, but you can't come with me." He stroked her back. "Watch the house for me, okay?"

Blaine got into his car and started the engine. The digital clock said it was only a quarter to nine. When he passed the sign of Lima it was a couple of minutes to ten. He drove by Kurt's house slowly, only to check if his car was in the driveway which it was. Then he started cruising the town, not a clue what he was doing or where he was going but he didn't want to feel like a goddamn stalker.

His phone buzzed with a text message from Kurt, telling him he arrived home safely and that he was sorry for the way the evening went. There was no _I love you_ at the end of the message. Blaine quickly wrote a text back, saying again how sorry he was and that he looked forward to seeing Kurt tomorrow. There was no reply after that.

He still felt miserable and restless. After driving all the way to Lima thinking about every word he'd thrown at Kurt he was sure Kurt would break up with him tomorrow. Blaine didn't know what he should do or what he could do. He needed to talk to someone, he felt like being alone with his thoughts only made things worse.

But where could he go to? Apart from Kurt he had no real friends. There was no one he could turn to. Except... perhaps... maybe...

At a red light Blaine fumbled for his phone and dialed a number.

"Hey there, B! What's up?" a cheerful voice answered.

"Hey Mike," Blaine cleared his throat, feeling nervous all of a sudden. "Sorry, I know it's late but I'm in Lima and I was wondering..."

"No problem, come on over. You know where I live?"

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><p><strong>Songs in this chapter: <strong>

Michael Jackson – The way you make me feel

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><p><strong>Thank you so much for reading! <strong>

**Please everyone, I have a favor to ask of you. If you liked this chapter I'd really love to read your review. If you were disappointed by it, I'm really sorry but I can't handle any negative response right now and I would like to ask you please not to review. I'm very sensitive at the moment because of personal problems. I love writing fanfiction but any kind of negative feedback really drags me down and it takes a lot for me to get my spirits back up. Thank you so much for your understanding! **

**To everyone who's waiting for an update of No Regrets I assure you I'm working on it. However, I want to have a couple of chapters done before I post the next one. Thanks for your patience and support. I really appreciate it. :)**


	20. Weak As I Am

**Hi everyone! :D**

**First of all, thank you all SO MUCH for all of your amazing reviews for the last chapter and for all the love you give me! You made me really, really happy and it was a great motivation to get the next chapter done! **

**Beware, this chapter turned out very angsty again because as requested I'm writing more details about Blaine's experiences at his old school. Bad language and violence! **

**Also there's a lot of Mike and Blaine bromance. Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Weak As I Am<strong>

It was a weird mix of relief and shame that Blaine felt when he walked up the path to the front door of Mike Chang's house.

He was relieved because he wouldn't have to be alone for the next couple of hours – depending on how long Mike was willing to keep him company of course – and ashamed because he came to him in the middle of the night, practically invading his home. Perhaps Mike had just been too polite to say he wasn't welcome.

Blaine's other option had been to sit in some diner all night long, drink some coke and pretend to study while really he just needed the feel of people around him. Blaine wasn't good at being alone. But what was even worse was the feeling of being alone in a crowd. It wasn't enough for him tonight.

He'd often sat in the Dalton common room, surrounded by his fellow schoolmates, talking to everyone and no one, feeling alone in a group. That had changed when Kurt came. Ever since he knew Kurt he felt like he truly belonged somewhere and that he wasn't as alone in the world as he'd always felt.

Blaine had been happy among his Dalton friends, especially being part of the Warblers. Still, in a weird way Blaine had always felt like he was a fraud, like he played an act to make them believe that he belonged with them, when deep in his heart he had known that he hadn't found his true place yet.

He had never allowed himself to have close friends, he had never dared to put all his trust in a person. Not after his bad experiences as a freshman in high school. Not after what happened with Jonathan after the Sadie Hawkins Dance. Not with what happened before.

With every step towards the house Blaine's anxiety grew. He didn't even know what he wanted to tell Mike. If he sensed that Mike was just being polite he'd make his excuses and be out of there again. Just dropping by, just in the neighborhood.

Blaine stopped ten feet from the front door and capitulated. He was making a fool of himself. He should turn around, get in his car and call Mike, telling him that he'd changed plans and was on his way back home already, that he'd come for a visit another time.

"Hey Blaine!"

Blaine flinched and his head shot up to see Mike standing in the open door, waving at him. Blaine felt caught. He told his feet to move and slowly made his way towards his friend. "Hi Mike, I really hope I'm not bothering you. It's already late, I can leave again."

"Don't be silly," Mike said cheerfully and motioned for him to come inside. "Please, choose one pair of comfy slippers." It was a polite request for Blaine to leave his shoes at the door. In the entry hall next to the door was a little niche for shoes and guest slippers in different sizes and colors. Blaine took a pair of green ones.

He followed Mike down the hallway with was cramped with furniture and pictures and dust catchers which didn't really fit together but looked like a colorful collection of dispensables that the houseowner did not have the heart to throw away. Also there was a delicious smell in the air, like some spicy Asian food.

A dark haired woman appeared in the doorway to one of the rooms. She wore a comfortable looking kimono and a warm genuine smile.

"Mom, this is my schoolmate Blaine Anderson."

"Welcome to our house." Mike's mother folded her hands in front of her and bowed slightly at Blaine. Blaine wasn't sure if he should copy her gesture or offer his hand and in his confusion he ended up doing nothing except smiling awkwardly in return.

"Ah, I recognize you," Mike's mother exclaimed. "You were Tony in the musical! Oh, you were wonderful. I enjoyed the musical so much."

"Thank you Mrs Chang. It's nice to meet you."

"Please be our guest. Would you like to have some supper?"

"Uhm, thanks but I'm not hungry."

"Alright. But I'll bring some snacks upstairs."

"Uh, please, no trouble on my behalf."

"We'll be in my room, Mom." Mike led the way upstairs and rolled his eyes for Blaine to see. "Sorry about my mom. She's always so formal."

"I think she's very nice."

"She's embarrassing but I guess every mom is." Mike said with a shrug and smiled fondly to show that he still loved his mother dearly for all her quirks.

On the way upstairs Blaine was still astonished to see how the house was decorated in a traditional Asian kind of way, especially the colorful tapestry and sculptures were a thin line between beautiful and tacky.

Mike's bedroom, however, looked like every other American teenager's room with a computer and a Playstation and several posters of football stars at the wall. Blaine kept forget that Mike was on the football team. He always saw Mike as the awesome dancer who'd starred as Riff in West Side Story, it was hard to imagine that the slim and lithe boy also was a football player. But well, Blaine was all for breaking stereotypes.

There was a pin wall with an overwhelming amount of pictures of Mike and his friends. Looking at it kind of made Blaine jealous. It wasn't just pictures of his New Directions fellows but also shots of Asian teenagers, maybe relatives or friends from the Asian community. There was a framed picture of Mike and Tina on the desk and Blaine took it in his hands and smiled. It was taken at junior prom.

"Tina and you really are an item, aren't you?"

"She's my _everything."_

Blaine put the picture back in its place and turned around to look at Mike. The tall Asian boy was all serious about his words. Blaine's smile turned wistful and he nodded in understanding.

Mike broke out into a wide smile. "See, that's why I like you, Blaine. The other guys would have laughed at me when I told them that Tina was my one and only. But you, you understand. Because you have the same thing with Kurt."

Blaine didn't reply anything to that but he felt how his throat constricted. He hated himself for the way he'd yelled at Kurt just earlier.

"I guess," Blaine replied and hoped for all his life that Kurt still felt the same. Suddenly he noticed that Mike was staring at him with an odd look on his face. Blaine got nervous. Did Mike sense that something was wrong? "What is it?"

"Oh, sorry but I can't stop staring at your hair," Mike apologized. "It's just so _curly_! Wow!"

"Oh, that..." Blaine reached up and tried to pat his hair down but to no avail.

"Tina always tries to convince me to use gel," Mike went on with a shrug. "But I dunno. Looks good on you but I'm not sure I'm the type for gel you know?"

Blaine nodded at this, only half-listening. He was still too distracted by his own troubles.

"Okay, shoot! What's up?" Mike suddenly said, taking a seat on his swivel chair and watching Blaine curiously.

"Nothing." Blaine put on an innocent face and shrugged. "I was just in the neighborhood."

"Come on," Mike prompted gently but determined. "You want me to believe you just happen to be driving around Lima at night?" Mike was swaying back and forth on his chair, stretching his incredible long legs. "According to Tina Kurt was supposed to be at your house tonight. What happened?"

Blaine sighed. He'd forgotten how fast word travelled around.

"We had a fight," Blaine admitted and then shook his head. "No, actually it was just me who freaked out and then he left and..." Suddenly feeling weak and weary Blaine sat down on the mintgreen couch next to Mike's desk.

"Perhaps he's better off without me."

"Now, don't be dramatic!" Mike arched his eyebrows at him. "Tina and I fight all of the time! You gotta let some steam off sometimes. It can't always be rainbows and sunshine."

"Kurt's gonna leave me!" Blaine blurted out, feeling uncertain and discouraged all of a sudden. "I mean after tonight he just can't forgive me. I pushed him away and..." Blaine paled when he realized something and he buried his face in his hands. "Oh God, literally! I _pushed_ him! But I didn't mean to hurt him! I was just afraid he'd step into the broken glass!"

"Broken glass?" Mike repeated horrified. "Geez, what happened? You didn't throw things at each other, did you?"

"No, of course not!" Blaine replied scandalized, looking up again. "I'd never throw things at Kurt! It's just that at one point I broke my closet mirror." He showed his right hand to Mike. He hadn't bandaged it yet and his knuckles were badly scratched and a little bloody. Until now he had stuffed his hands away in the sleeves of his sweater.

Mike shook his head disapprovingly and pulled a face. "You crashed your mirror in front of Kurt?"

Blaine nodded miserable. "I think I scared him. He was scared of me! God, maybe he even thought I was going to hurt him. But I'd never hurt him! Mike, I don't know what to do! What can I do?"

Mike held his hands up. "Now wait a second. Start at the beginning, alright? What was your fight about? You said you freaked out. What was the trigger? Why were you so angry with Kurt?"

"I wasn't even really angry with him," Blaine said with a shrug. "I was just angry about _everything_ and he was the only one around to take the brunt."

"Everything?" Mike crossed his arms. "Sorry but you gotta be more specific."

"Well, I've had some stress lately with my parents and, you know, with that idiot Sebastian. But most of all I guess I was scared that Kurt would break up with me. This idea just got stuck in my head and I couldn't stop thinking about it."

"But why? You can't seriously be thinking that Kurt would want to break up with you!" Mike looked utterly confused.

"You know that Kurt's going to New York," Blaine said in almost a whisper and a lost look in his eyes, letting his words linger as if they were all that needed to be said.

Mike just shrugged again. "So what? I thought you'd wanted to have a distant relationship then."

Blaine raked his hands through his hair. "Yeah, we did, but then I started thinking about what that means and I told Kurt that I had concerns about distant relationships and he said that he had the same concerns and that distance relationships usually don't work out."

"And then he said that you should split up?" Mike asked incredulously.

Blaine let out a frustrated growl. "Well, no, he didn't really say it… because, well, I cut him off, but I guess that's what he wanted to say. I mean if he doesn't want a long distant relationship the only option is to break up with me, isn't it?"

"Blaine, you're a moron!" Mike dragged a hand down his face. "Relationship rule number one: To avoid trouble with your girlfriend always _listen_ to what your girlfriend says and let her _finish talking_! I try to teach Finn that for years now. You should've listened to Kurt, man! Because I'm fairly certain he didn't want to break up with you."

There was a resoluteness in Mike's voice that made Blaine look up in bafflement. "What makes you so certain about that?"

Mike leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. His brown eyes were intense with the seriousness of a storyteller in front of his awestruck audience. "Okay listen up! I talked to Tina on the phone just before you called me. The girls had some important meeting today after school about the girls vs boys competish and it got really dirty! Tina wouldn't spill any details but apparently Kurt, Sugar and a pair of white gloves were mainly involved."

Blaine drew his eyebrows together and made a mental note to get Kurt to tell him the full story someday.

"Afterwards Kurt told Tina that you're the only good thing in his life. He said something like, everything was driving him insane right now and that you were his rock, his shelter, and he couldn't imagine life without you anymore."

Blaine stared at Mike and felt sick all of a sudden.. "He said _that_ to Tina? _Today_?"

Mike nodded and arched his eyebrows at him. "Now tell me why would Kurt say something like that when he was up and about to break up with you only a couple of hours later?"

Blaine slumped back into the couch and tore at his hair. "Oh my God! I screwed up!" Tonight he had been anything but a rock for Kurt. Instead he had hurt him so much. "I yelled at him, Mike. I accused him of not loving me. I was really, really mean to him."

"There's more," Mike said, pulling a face. "I'm afraid but you really picked a bad day to freak out on Kurt."

"What do you mean?" Apart from the obvious thing that any day was the wrong day to yell at his boyfriend for all the stupid reasons.

"Kurt's been slushied after school today."

For a long second Blaine just stared at him in utter disbelief while his brain was busy figuring out what this meant.

"Kurt has been slushied today?" he repeated in a whisper. Some idiot had thrown another slushy at his wonderful boyfriend although Kurt was doing his best not to stick out anymore with his clothing?

"What happened? Who threw that slushy at Kurt?" Blaine had his fists balled up and the anger in his voice was unmistakable.

"Well, before the girls had their top secret meeting Tina, Mercedes and Rachel came to wish us luck for football practice, us that is Sam, Finn and me."

"Apparently," Blaine nodded.

"Kurt came along and before anyone knew what happened Azimo walked by and threw a slushy at him. There's been a huge fight after that, you can't imagine. Finn and Mercedes both launched themselves at Azimo and seriously, I can't say who has been scarier. Both have been so mad but I'd probably say Mercedes was a tad scarier than Finn because Finn just looks like a big sappy dog no matter how angry he is. Coach Bieste had to get them all apart before someone was seriously hurt." Mike told the story agiatedly.

"Kurt has been devastated, of course. From what I understand he'd worn one of his favorite coats which was ruined. I only say blueberry slushy. Also Kurt didn't have any spare clothes with him so Finn gave him his hoodie and his red vest because Finn always has change clothes in his locker for after football practice. And well, you can imagine how much Kurt hated sitting through all the girl's meeting wearing Finn's clothes. He said to Tina he couldn't wait to finally get on his way to your house and just to forget about all this mess."

"Oh God, I made it all about me. I was so captured in my own distress that I didn't notice that he was feeling down as well." Blaine leaned his head back and stared up at the ceiling.

"I still can't believe all the things I said to him. I feel like I'm slowly losing my mind. And if I'm losing Kurt..." Blaine shook his head violently and then sat up straight to look at Mike pleadingly. "I can't lose him. What should I do, Mike? What can I do?"

"Woah, you're really worked up by this, aren't you?" Mike scrunched up his face. "First of all before you meet Kurt again you need to get your head clear and by that I mean you gotta get all the hot anger out of your system."

Mike jumped to his feet and headed to his door. "Follow me! I know just what'll help you to let off some steam."

"What? Now?" Blaine followed him in bewilderment through the house. To his surprise Mike was leading him down a flight of stairs right into the basement of the house. They walked past a large washing room with clothes hung up to dry, a clustered junk room and a pantry with what looked like a thousand of preserving jars.

"Mike, why are you leading me through your basement? Is there some secret Ninja fight club down here and your father is like the master of it?"

Mike laughed heartily at that. "My dad's a big fan of martial arts, but no he's not a Ninja himself. He's more into another sports. Here we are." Mike opened a door, switched on the lights and motioned for Blaine to step in first. Blaine couldn't help gaping. It was a large room with a mirror wall and a smooth dance floor.

"Ta-da! It's my dance studio," Mike exclaimed proudly. "My dad had it made for me some time after the musical, after he'd finally accepted that dancing is my passion."

Blaine was amazed by the room and his eyes widened especially at the sight of a punching bag in the far corner.

"My dad's a fan of boxing." Mike crossed the room towards the bag. "He says when life treats you like a punching bag you gotta _punch_ _back_." He chuckled. "He tries to be funny."

Mike opened a dresser and tossed Blaine a white tank top and red jogging pants. "Change into these!"

Blaine looked down at the clothes given to him. "Mike, I can't start boxing in your basement in the middle of the night..."

"Middle of the night?" Mike grinned. "My family hardly ever sleeps. On the weekends we only go to bed around two or three in the morning." He turned around to attach his iPod to the stereo and flick through his playlists. While Mike put some music on Blaine got out of his jeans and his sweater and put Mike's sports clothes on. He had to admit that just seeing the punching bag made him itch with excitement.

"Perhaps I should clean my hand first," Blaine murmured when Mike gave him a pair of boxing gloves.

Mike raised a sceptical brow at him. "Did Kurt offer you to tend to your hand?"

"Uhm, yes, but I declined."

Mike pursed his lips in a disapproving way. "Then I won't offer to help licking your wounds. My grandma always says you need to suffer the consequences of missed chances. Only this way you learn to take chances the moment they are offered to you."

However, Mike handed Blaine a first aid kit from the dresser and Blaine wrapped a bandage around his bruised knuckles.

Then Mike hit the play button on his iPod and a second later the smashing and aggressive sound of some rock band blasted from the boxes. Mike turned the volume up. At Blaine shocked gaze he explained that the room was soundproof and the music couldn't be heard upstairs.

_To my mother To my father  
>It's your son or it's your daughter<em>

_Are my screams loud enough for  
>You to hear me? Should I turn this up for you?<br>_

Blaine circled the punching bag for a moment, letting the vibe of the music run through him. The aggressive beat helped him getting in the right mood but he didn't really need it to dive into his anger.

"What are you waiting for? Go on, hit it!" Mike yelled at him and for a moment Blaine was irritated but then their eyes met and he knew that Mike was his personal drill sergeant now.

_I sit here locked inside my head  
>Remembering everything you've said<em>

_The silence gets us nowhere,  
>Gets us nowhere way too fast.<br>_

Blaine started hitting the bag, still reserved at first. With a sideways glance he took in his own reflection in the mirror and hated the person looking back at him.

Weak. Insecure. Craving to be loved.

He had hurt his boyfriend with all his insecurities. If he hadn't been busy pitying himself he would've noticed that Kurt had needed him.

_The silence is what kills me__  
><em>_I need someone here to help me_

___But you don't know how to listen__  
><em>_And let me make my decision_

It felt damn good to ram his fist into something. He relived the seconds he had punched Rick Nelson again. In that moment it had been worth being suspended for it. He despised violence but sometimes he felt like he would burst. Sometimes Blaine was scared of himself, of the anger boiling inside of him and of his dreams about punching someone, hurting someone, bashing someone just like he had been bashed up that one time.

_All your insults and your curses  
>Make me feel like I'm not a person.<br>And I feel like I am nothing.  
><em>

Mike was walking around him, yelling at him. "That's all you got, Blaine? Really? Hit it harder, man!" It didn't take long until Blaine's body was heated up and covered in sweat.

Mike watched him attentively and paused the music. "Does it hurt? Your hand I mean."

Blaine looked down at his hand, the white bandage underneath his gloves was soaked with sweat and a bit of blood. He only nodded because he was out of breath.

"Good. It has to hurt! It's no use if it's not painful." Mike stepped behind him, giving Blaine's neck and shoulders a quick massage and granting him a second to catch his breath.

"When I'm angry I dance until I'm so exhausted that I drop dead on the floor. Every muscle, every bone in your body must hurt!"

Mike went over to the stereo again and put another song on. "Now I want you to give them all a good punch, Blaine, all of them! Start with that douchebag Sebastian! And then go back to every single person who's ever insulted or hurt you!"

_Lost in time I can't count the words_

_I said when I thought they went unheard_

_All of those harsh thoughts so unkind_

That order was easy to comply. Whenever Blaine was boxing he imagined the faces of his attackers at the Sadie Hawkins Dance. Even today he could still see their faces right in front of him, hear their laughter, feel their shoes kicking into his side...

_Weak as I am, no tears for you_

_Deep as I am, I'm no one's fool_

_Weak as I am_

But today his memories went way back to his freshman year to the day when his personal hell had started.

"_Hey Blaine!" _

_Blaine slowed down at hearing his name being called. He didn't have any friends at school and the only person he had been friends with over the past couple of weeks had turned on him. He didn't want to turn around like an eager puppy when perhaps another guy named Blaine was being called and he was only making a fool of himself. And yet his feet wanted to stop walking at the possibility that someone was actually calling out for him._

"_Blaine Anderson, I'm talking to you!" _

_Now, there surely weren't two Blaine Anderson's at this school, right? Blaine turned around to the sight of Nathan and his little gang. Nathan was the head of the math club a. k. a. the nerd club a. k. a. the loser club. They were outsiders, just like he was. Blaine nodded at a boy called Jason who had invited Blaine to join the math club only a week ago when he'd still been friends with Jenn. But Jason didn't seem to recognize him anymore. _

"_You're a fag, right?" Nathan spit at him and Blaine was too dumbstruck to reply anything. "Jenn says so. And now that I get a closer look at you I think she's right! You look very much like a homo to me!"_

_Blaine blushed hotly and his heart started beating out of his chest. Students were walking by, shooting them curious glances but moving on. Just then he caught sight of Jenn who lingered around nearby and their eyes met briefly. She quickly looked away and let her long hair fall into her face, pretending she hadn't seen him. Had there been a trace of guilt in her eyes? Seeing her walk away made Blaine feel left behind. _

_He was alone in this mess that was his life. _

"_What do you want?" Blaine asked the annoying math freak. Nathan was one of those poor losers who got locked up inside his locker by the jocks or dunked facedown into toilets. Nathan and his friends were at the social bottom of this school. _

_Apparently being treated like scum had made them bitter and cruel and they were eager to find someone who was scum beneath their feet. _

_With a vicious grin Nathan draped his arm around Blaine's shoulders and steered him in the direction of the restrooms. "Come with us, we wanna show you something." _

_Blaine shrugged away from Nathan's touch. "I don't wanna go anywhere with you."_

_Before Blaine knew what was happening one of the boys kicked him into the hollow of his knee and Blaine fell down, landing hard on one knee and scratching his left wrist on the concrete floor. _

"_Oh dear, did you hurt yourself? Come on, let us help you up." Nathan and one of his friends dragged Blaine back up on his feet and linked arms with him, leading him into the boy's restroom. There he was shoved against the tiled wall and lost his satchel on the dirty floor. _

"_You like cock, don't you? From what I heard you must be a really busy little whore!"_

"_What? That's..." Blaine started to protest but Nathan shoved him back against the wall again while Jason stood guard at the door and the other two boys eagerly watched the show. _

"_You only talk when I allow you to, understood?" _

_Nathan produced a dollar bill from his wallet and fluttered it in front of Blaine's nose. "Now be a good whore and tell me how much you love cock."_

"_Fuck you!" Blaine replied, letting anger be his fuel to show some strength. He tried to push his way past this annoying guy but he was shoved again by the other two, this time harder. His head smacked against the wall, making him nauseated for a few seconds. _

"_It's quite easy, faggie, just say _I love cock_," Nathan instructed him with his hand closing around Blaine's throat. _

"_Nathan!" Jason called out as if reminding him to keep his temper. _

"_Say it!" Nathan repeated, giving Blaine a little shake. _

"_I... I love... cock," Blaine croaked and drew a deep breath when his throat was released again. _

"_Good boy, there, that wasn't that hard, was it?" Nathan shoved the dollar bill into the front pocket of Blaine's shirt. "Now, get down on your knees."_

_Blaine shook his head, near tears but stubbornly refusing to comply._

"_He said get down, fag!" one of the other boys grabbed Blaine's shoulders and pushed him down which was easy because his legs were giving away anyway as he was shaking with fear. He just wanted them to go away and leave him alone. _

"_Nathan, we really should get going or we're gonna be late for debate club." This was Jason from the door. _

"_Just a minute! I'm almost finished with him!" Nathan turned to Blaine again. "Now, that's a position you must be familiar with, right?" Nathan's friends snickered and he stepped in front of Blaine and opened his fly. "I bet you've never seen such a big one." Nathan closed his hand around his junk still covered by his boxershorts. "I want you to say _I love sucking cock!"

_Blaine shook his head, terrified. Oh God, no! What did he want him to do?_

_Nathan grabbed Blaine's curly hair and yanked his head back. "Say it!"_

_Blaine repeated the words and couldn't help the tears running down his face and the embarrassing sobs escaping his throat. _

_A self-satisfied smile crept along the corners of Nathan's mouth when he zipped up his fly again. With a quick move he kneed Blaine in the guts, making him double over. "Let's go!"_

"_Geez, Nate, for a second I thought you really wanted to let him suck you off," one of the other guys said. _

"_Hell, no, as if I'd let that homo touch me! I just wanted to see him cry."_

_Blaine curled up on the cold floor and wished for the earth to open and swallow him._

_And now I sit here I'm all alone_

_So here sits a bloody mess, tears fly home_

_A circle of angels, deep in war_

* * *

><p>"<em>Never look back, Blainers." The tired voice of his mother on the day she dropped him off at boarding school. "Try to forget everything, darling. There's no need to ever look back." <em>

_She kissed his cheek and he grasped for her hand, trying to keep her by his side, trying to plead without words, trying to hold back his tears when he knew it was no use._

_So what am I now _

_I'm love last home_

_I'm all of the soft words I once owned_

_If I opened my heart, there'd be no space for air_

"_It'll be hard for me not seeing you every day, my boo." She said with a brave smile and Blaine's heart started to pound faster at the sight of her almost weeping for him. _

"_I don't want to go to boarding school, Mom. Can't I stay home? Can't I be homeschooled?" _

_Just out of hospital for a couple of weeks he was scared of everyone and everything. He was told that Dalton Academy was a safe place. But he didn't believe in a safe place anymore. He clutched his mother's hand desperately like he was a five-year-old._

_In this tainted soul, in this weak young heart_

_Am I too much for you?_

_Weak as I am, am I too much for you?_

_The first few weeks he'd called his mother every night, crying and pleading to get back home. Dalton hadn't been that bad, of course. He had just felt so abandoned and so alone. _

_One night his father took over the phone and told him to finally stop crying like a baby. _

_"It's not all about yourself, boy! Think about what you're doing to your mother when she has to listen to you whining every day! She cries herself to sleep every night and I'm the one who has to listen to that! Stop making her worry sick about you!"_

_Weak as I am, no tears for you_

_Deep as I am, I'm no one's fool_

_Weak as I am_

_After that Blaine had tried to pull himself together. He'd practiced smiling in front of the mirror. He'd only told his mother cheerful things about his new school and the choir he'd just joined. His father had been right. It had been selfish to cry and beg and long for comfort and making his parents worry about him. _

"_I'm fine, Mom, stop worrying about me." _

_These words had become his mantra, until his mother had finally stopped worrying about him. Stopped caring about him. Stopped loving him. _

* * *

><p>After almost an hour of boxing Blaine was done. He was totally exhausted and out of breath. "Come with me." Mike led him through another hallway of the basement until they reached a door and Mike opened it for Blaine.<p>

"Have a quick shower to wash off all the sweat, then come and join me outside. Oh, and put these on." Mike took a pair of bathing trunks out of a basket. Blaine gave him a puzzled look but didn't ask any questions. After Mike left the small bathroom he stripped and stepped into the shower, enjoying the water to cool off the heat of his body. Blaine took some of the shower gel and inhaled deeply, it smelled like mint and other refreshing herbs and helped clearing his senses.

Wearing nothing but the blue trunks Blaine opened the next door and stepped outside on a porch in the backyard and was met by a chilly breeze of night air.

"Over here!" Blaine followed Mike's voice and stepped around a partition with Chinese dragons on it.

"Oh wow!" Blaine exclaimed when he saw the small whirlpool with hot steaming water that was waiting for him. Mike was already in the tub, waving at him with a crooked grin.

"Wanna join me? I tell you it's perfect to relax after an intense work out."

"When did you prepare all this?" Blaine was perplexed. There were green and red Chinese lanterns lit around the tub, a pitcher with ice cold diet coke on a service cart and plates with fruits and snacks.

"I asked my sister to prepare the hot tub for us," Mike admitted with a happy grin. "She also brought us grapes and cheese, she's such a sweetheart."

With a long sigh Blaine entered the tub until the water was up to his neck. "Gosh, Mike, do you wanna be my best friend, please? I've always wanted a best friend with a hot tub in the backyard."

Mike was laughing again. "We can have a hot tub party if you want," he offered. "I had one last week with Tina, Mercedes and Sam. We had a blast!

Blaine's eyes got big. "Four people fit in here?"

"Four people who don't mind some proximity." Mike winked at him. "So how about next Friday? You bring Kurt and I ask Tina to join us?"

Blaine's expression turned wistful again. "I can only hope Kurt and I are still together next week."

"Don't worry about Kurt. He's crazy for you. Like I said, Tina and I fight all of the time and still we love each other madly. Also, make up sex is amazing!"

"I wouldn't know because we haven't done it yet," Blaine blurted out and he didn't know where this came from all of a sudden. He usually didn't like sharing personal stuff with anyone. But perhaps he just didn't have a good friend he felt comfortable sharing stuff like this with until now. He trusted Mike because he didn't judge Blaine for his stupid mistakes. Also he was no gossip, at least not when it counted.

"Well, we've been _intimate_, of course," Blaine added because now he felt stupid for making it sound like he and Kurt were boyfriends who didn't touch each other. "But not the real thing, not yet."

Mike leaned forward and offered the plate with cheese and grapes to him. "Now I understand why you're so afraid that you might lose him," he said, popping a grape into his mouth.

Blaine stared at him with big question marks in his eyes and lifted a hand out of the water to take a handful of cheese. "What do you mean?"

Mike shrugged and leaned back. "Just like everyone you seem to think that sex is the ultimate thing to keep a couple together. But I'm telling you it takes more than sex to connect two people. When a couple hasn't really bonded then sex won't help them either."

Mike's eyes turned serious once more. "But Kurt and you, you already have this special bond. It doesn't matter if you have sex anytime soon or not, because for you it's just one step further on your path together. You know what I mean?"

Blaine nodded slowly and grinned sheepishly. It made sense in a way.

Suddenly there was a rustling noise nearby and Blaine squinted his eyes into the dark garden. Two small figures hurried down a path towards the hot tub and a moment later two Asian girls at the age of perhaps ten or eleven peeked around the corner of the partition with big curious eyes, straight black hair and high-pitched giggles.

"Mike! Mike!" one of the girls whisper-shouted and Mike grinned cheekily over his shoulder. "Come on over, girls! Don't be shy!"

Both girls stepped closer and stopped in front of the tub. "We bring kimonos for you," one of the girls murmured bashfully and put two bathrobes on a stool.

"Thanks, Myo." Mike smiled at her. "Blaine, this is my sister Myoko and her friend Jiao. Girls, this is my friend Blaine."

"Hi girls!" Blaine greeted and waved at them.

Both girls murmured a shy hello in return and giggled.

"Mom says the guest room is ready," Myoko said to Mike and then ushered her friend back down the path again.

"Gosh, he's sooo cute!" Myoko whispered to her friend loud enough for Blaine to hear. Baffled he widened his eyes at Mike.

Mike just chuckled and popped another grape into his mouth. "Oh my sister, she loves to check out older boys!"

Blaine grinned at that. "What was that about the guest room?"

"You're staying for the night," Mike replied matter-of-factly. "I'd be a bad host if I let you drive this late. You'll crash in our guest room."

"No, I really don't wanna be a bother!" Blaine protested.

"Don't be silly, you're not a bother. Besides, we'll meet the other guys for breakfast in the Lima Bean tomorrow, so it doesn't make sense for you to head home tonight."

* * *

><p>It was already past two in the middle of the night when Blaine finally lay down on the bed in the guest room. He was so sleepy that he expected to fall asleep at once, however, worry kept him awake. He was so anxious about meeting Kurt the next day. He'd fall down on his knees and beg Kurt for forgiveness, he'd do anything if only Kurt stayed by his side.<p>

He just couldn't stop thinking about what Kurt had told Tina. Blaine was his rock, his shelter. But Blaine had failed to be Kurt's safe haven today and even if Kurt could forgive him, he'd never forgive himself for scaring his boyfriend away and making him cry.

Blaine jerked up when his phone suddenly rang. He grabbed it off the nightstand, expecting, hoping it to be Kurt, but when he saw the caller's ID he groaned in frustration. It was his mother. He'd forgotten to tell her that he was staying at a friend's for the night. Again. She would be furious.

For a moment he considered not answering the phone because he really wasn't in the mood to listen to his mother shouting at him, but of course he couldn't do that.

"Hello Mom."

"Blaine! Where are you? Are you okay?" Her voice was shaking, not with anger but with fear. "I just got home and saw your broken mirror and... oh God, what happened, darling? Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm alright, Mom. I'm sorry, I forgot to call and tell you that I'm in Lima. I'm staying at Mike's for the night."

"Oh, Blainers, I'm so sorry about what I said to you today," his mother said and to Blaine's horror she burst out into tears. "I didn't mean to yell at you. Please come home. I love you, my babyboy, more than anything! Please come back home!"

Only now Blaine realized that she was scared that he had run away from home. "Mom, I'll come back home tomorrow. We're having a meeting with the other boys from glee club for breakfast so I figured I should spend the night."

"Okay, that's okay. You can stay at Mike's. He's the Asian boy, right? Yes, I think he was very nice." Elaine's voice cracked and she burst into tears again. "I promise I'll be a better mother from now on, baby," she sobbed. "I know I've been awful to you lately and I'm so so sorry."

Listening to his mother cry made Blaine's heart ache. "Mom, please stop crying," he tried to comfort her. "It's alright."

"I love you, my baby, I hope you know that. I'll always love you, Blaine."

"I know, Mom. I love you, too," Blaine replied, fighting hard to hold back his own tears.

"How about I make cup cakes for tomorrow afternoon? You always liked my cup cakes, didn't you?" Elaine took a deep breath and sniffed. "With chocolate sprinkles and whipped cream."

Blaine smiled to himself. His mother was no cook and she wasn't great at baking either. Cup cakes was the only thing she could manage and the last time she'd made those was years back.

"I'd like that," he said, swallowing down a lump in his throat.

"Oh, and you can bring your boyfriend," Elaine said, trying to sound cheerfully in spite of her sobbing. "Wouldn't it be nice if you brought Kurt with you?"

Blaine covered his mouth with one hand and cried. Hot tears of frustration and happiness and all the emotions in between.

* * *

><p><strong>Songs in this chapter: <strong>

Staind – You

Skunk Anansie – Weak As I Am

* * *

><p><strong>Please please review! :)<strong>


	21. Breakfast at Tiffany's

**HELLO MY FELLOW KLAINERS! How awesome is the box scene, huh? I love it to bits and pieces! It made my whole existence worthwhile! ;D **

**Also all of your reviews for the last couple of chapters made me so incredible happy! Thank you guys so much! I hope this chapter makes you happy, too. **

**I don't own anything except grammar mistakes and Blaine's tube of hair gel, haha, he won't get it back so soon. ;P**

**Enjoy! :)**

* * *

><p><strong>Breakfast at Tiffany's<strong>

On Saturday morning Blaine woke up with a start because someone shook him by the shoulder.

"Sorry to wake you," Mike said, hovering over him. "We're supposed to be meeting the guys in an hour and I don't know how long it takes you to get ready."

"Uhm, it's alright." Blaine sat up and rubbed his eyes. He felt groggy. It had been a short night and he didn't sleep much. Yawning he got busy in the bathroom. Mike's family even had spare toothbrushes for guests. However Blaine was missing one essential thing.

"Uh, Mike, you don't have hair gel, do you?"

Mike shook his head with a grin. "Sorry, friend. You will find no gel in this house."

"Damnation," Blaine muttered under his breath, staring at his reflection. As always his hair was an untamable mess. He splashed a handful of water into it to wet it and comb it down. Leaning in the doorway Mike watched his attempts with an amused grin.

"I should let you know that we won't be able to sneak out of the house without having tea with my family first," Mike warned his friend. "I already told them that we're having breakfast at the Lima Bean so they won't be offended if you turn down my mother's breakfast. I suppose you don't want chicken feet soup to start your day with."

"Chicken feet soup?" Blaine repeated with arched eyebrows, not sure if Mike was pulling his leg.

"It's delicious but it needs getting used to." Mike shrugged. "We have weird eating habits. Tina always has excuses not to stay for dinner."

"I'll just have some tea then," Blaine said.

They kneeled down on pillows around a low table and Mike's mother served rice balls and soup and other stuff for breakfast. Blaine was introduced to Mike's father and the rest of the Chang family. Mike's sister Myoko smiled across the table at him, popping rice balls into her mouth.

Mike's grandparents were slurping their soup and nodding at Blaine welcomingly while Mike's little brother couldn't sit still and begged to be excused to go back to play some video game in his room.

Blaine was cupping the large cup of tea with both hands and blew softly over the hot sweet smelling liquid.

"What do you want to do after school, Blaine?" Mike's mother asked, sounding genuinely interested. "Have you applied to colleges already?"

"I hope to get into NYADA so I can follow my boyfriend to New York," Blaine told her. Just when he saw Mr Chang's face fall at his words Blaine noticed his slip. He shouldn't rub the fact that he was gay right under their noses.

"Ah, the arts," Mike's father now said, shaking his head with a sigh. "What is it with this generation going for the arts? Mike is no different with his desire to become a dancer. But knowing that he's very talented we let him follow his destination."

Blaine let out the breath he'd been holding. This was what he was being judged for? That he chose an arts school?

"So your boyfriend lives in New York?" Mrs Chang asked excitedly. "Ah, it's such a wonderful city. We've been there last year and went to see _The Phantom Of The Opera _on Broadway. It was so wonderful. But I feel for you, my dear. A distant relationship must be very hard."

"Well, uhm, he's not in New York yet. He's graduating together with Mike and then he's off to New York. I'm a junior, so I have to wait another year."

"You're a junior? Really? You look older if I may say so."

"Well, yeah, I'll be eighteen in a few months." Blaine didn't elaborate. They surely thought he was very dumb or very lazy and had failed in class.

"Our Cousin June had to repeat a year, too," Myoko chirped up. "She's been to the hospital for a long time because she's been so sick."

"I've been to the hospital for quite a long time, too."

The girl looked at him with sympathy. "Are you better now?"

Blaine gave her a nod along with a smile. "Yes, I'm much better now, thank you."

* * *

><p>Mike and Blaine left the house together, but drove each in their own car because Blaine was meeting Kurt afterwards. When Blaine parked in front of the Lima Bean he could tell by the cars that all of the other boys were already gathered. To his surprise Finn was sitting on a bench outside. His shoulders were sagged and he looked worried and unusually serious. When Blaine approached Finn rose to meet him and the deep frown directed at Blaine was a sure sign that Blaine was in trouble.<p>

"Hey Blaine, can I talk to you for a sec?"

The way Finn said it made Blaine's stomach churn. Finn sounded like he was doing his best to contain himself and not kill Blaine off right on the spot.

"Yeah, sure. What is it?" Blaine stayed a few feet away from him.

"What happened last night?" Finn asked, folding his arms across his chest.

Blaine's heartbeat sped up. "What do you mean?"

"Duh!" Finn rolled his eyes. "Kurt came home crying. He was supposed to spend the night at your house. Ring any bells?"

"He cried?" Of course Blaine had figured that Kurt had been upset about his stupid and irrational behavior last night, but hearing that his boyfriend had actually cried caused a sick, nauseating feeling in the pit of Blaine's stomach.

"Yes," Finn replied harshly. "I've never seen Kurt cry so hard before. I figured _you_ must have done something to him but Kurt wouldn't tell me anything. I even brought him a glass of warm milk to have one of those lady chats he loves so much but he simply refused to tell me what was upsetting him. And then to distract himself he watched one of those old soppy girl movies that didn't really help lifting his mood either."

Finn opened his arms, shrugged and looked absolutely clueless.

"Tell me, dude, did you two have a fight or something? I know that it's not really my business and I wouldn't make such a fuss over nothing especially since Kurt isn't accusing you of anything _but,_" Finn raised a clenched fist at Blaine and spoke very slowly and clearly, "I noticed that he has a swollen lip and if you hit him I can't guarantee for anything."

"I didn't hit him." Blaine said miserably, shaking his head. "I'd never hit him! But yes, I'm responsible for his bruised lip." He admitted quietly and ashamed.

Finn sighed deeply. "I really like you, Blaine, but I can't let you hurt my brother. I don't want you guys to fight. Kurt can take all the crap in the world but he can't take it from you, man. It's not right. Like I said I don't know what happened and he didn't say a bad word about you but I just know it was your fault that he was upset. I can't stand to see Kurt unhappy. Whatever it is you guys argued about, I want you to fix it, dude," Finn pointed a finger at him warningly. "Soon!"

Blaine just nodded eagerly because he felt like his voice would crack if he spoke.

"So yeah, that's it. That's all I wanted to say." Finn smiled again and turned from the threatening big brother back into the friendly big dog that he usually was. He gave Blaine's shoulder an affectionate knock and then motioned for him to follow him inside.

The boys had gathered around two tables in a big circle, talking and laughing and eating when Finn and Blaine joined them. Blaine had a nervous stomach and didn't order anything to eat. He just sipped his coffee and prayed for the time to pass by quickly so he could finally talk to Kurt and make things right.

"Guys, before we start on discussing our ideas for the competition there's something I want to talk to you about," Finn announced solemnly and Blaine was thinking once more that this would be much easier for Finn if he had a gavel.

"Guys, would you listen for a minute?" Finn tried again to no avail.

"Guys, it's about Kurt!"

Suddenly everyone was quiet and turned their heads to look at Finn.

"What about Kurt?" Artie asked.

"He's having a hard time lately and I wanna cheer him up," Finn explained. "So I came up with this idea..."

Finn usually wasn't the most observant guy so it took Blaine by surprise that he'd say that Kurt was having a rough time. But then again being slushied twice a week was an obvious sign that this hadn't been a great week for Kurt.

"Is this about Azimo slushying Kurt?" Puck cut in before Finn could tell them what his idea was. "'Cause I totally put salad cream into his shower gel tube. The next time he takes a shower after practice we're all gonna have a laugh."

"Well done!" Artie said and high-fived Puckerman.

"Why did Azimo do it anyway?" Blaine asked and shrugged to show that the slushy attack was incomprehensible for him. "Just for fun or what?"

"Azimo's pissed off because he thinks that it's Kurt's fault that his best buddie Karofsky transferred to another school," Finn explained.

"So what?" Blaine huffed and rolled his eyes. "I suppose no one went up and slushied Karofsky when Kurt had to leave McKinley because of him? _What_, Puck?" Blaine turned sharply to Puckerman who was gaping at him wide-eyed for the last couple of minutes.

"Sorry, dude," Puck blinked. "But your hair is so _big_! It's really distracting."

Now all of the boys turned to gaze at him.

"Holy crap!" Sam said, snickering and covering his mouth with one hand.

"Is that your real hair?" Artie cleaned his glasses to have a better look.

"I went out of gel," Blaine murmured defensively and tried to smooth down his curls with both hands. It had been a mistake to damp his hair with water because once it dried his curls got even worse. He didn't need a mirror to know that he looked ridiculous because the open-mouthed stares and impolite giggles by his fellow glee clubbers was all the confirmation he needed.

"Hey, let's get back to business, guys!" Finn raised his hands up to gain attention. "About my idea to cheer up Kurt..."

"What's with the weird tension between Rachel and Kurt for the last two days?" Puck asked, impressing everyone with his observant eye.

"That's about Rachel getting her NYADA letter on Wednesday," Sam explained and took a bite of his chocolate cookie. "Mercedes says Rachel's even more annoying than ever now that she's has it in black and white that she's amazingly talented."

Blaine listened up. "Woah, wait! Rachel's NYADA letter arrived?"

Finn nodded proudly. "Yep! Came this week. She's a finalist!"

"What about Kurt?" Blaine asked astonished. "Didn't he get a letter?"

Finn suddenly seemed very interested in the advertising on the napkin holder. "Uhm, I don't know..."

"You don't _know_?" Blaine asked incredulously. "How can you not know if Kurt's NYADA letter arrived?"

"Sorry but I'm not allowed to talk about it," Finn admitted in a murmur. "He'll kill me if I say anything. He's already on the edge because Rachel bugs him every day about it."

Blaine crumbled up his napkin. What was this all about? When Rachel's letter had arrived already chances were that Kurt's letter had arrived as well. Why hadn't Kurt told him about it? Why wouldn't he allow Finn to talk about it? Why the secrecy?

"Sugar joined the girls, by the way," Mike suddenly announced and made the boys's heads turn into his direction.

"Really?" The boys made big eyes. Apparently this was news to them.

"I thought Mr Schue only allowed seven people onstage," Rory pointed out, clearly baffled. "Did he change the rules?"

"Don't know," Mike shrugged. "I only know that it caused a big uproar within the group. Not all of the girls seemed to be fond of Sugar joining in the performance one week away from the competition. Apparently it messed up their rehearsal schedule."

"Good for us," Artie grinned. "When the girls are fighting each other we have better chances at beating them."

"Hey everyone!" Finn spoke up again. "Listen up! I have an idea how we can show the girls who's wearing the pants, well, sort of. At the same time we can make a point that we support Kurt and have his back and that we're not afraid to show it."

Finn let his slop-sided grin show. "Who's in for a very special impromptu performance?"

"Depends," Puckerman said, suspiciously. "What's your idea?"

The other guy's eyes grew big and bigger when Finn told them about his idea. "I know this is most likely the craziest thing we'll ever be doing as a group but I dare you to be man enough to join me in this. So, who's with me?"

They were reluctant at first but Blaine was amazed that starting with Rory all of the guys raised their hands. Of course Blaine got his hand up, too. He had to give Finn some credit for bravery because his idea was either brilliant or completely stupid. Just the thought of doing this was a weird mix of 'Hey this should be fun!' and 'God, no, you can't seriously wanna do this!' However, Blaine figured that as long as they stayed together as a group it should be more fun than scary.

Finn gave a happy drum roll with his fingers on the table. "Awesome! You all just signed up for rehearsal all day long tomorrow so we can deliver a perfect performance on Monday!"

"On Monday?" Everybody groaned.

"Yes, I already talked to Figgins yesterday," Finn explained. "I made sure we can use the assembly hall for the performance. So we gotta rehearse on Sunday."

* * *

><p>The boys meeting lasted for almost two hours and as soon as they said their goodbye's Blaine texted Kurt.<p>

_Meeting's finally over! Where do you wanna meet up? – B _

His phone buzzed with Kurt's reply only a few seconds later.

_Stay right there. I'm dying for a coffee! Be with you in fifteen. – K _

The next fifteen minutes proved to be the longest in Blaine's life.

He went to the men's restroom twice, fussing over his awfully curly hair and his clothes from yesterday. There was no way Kurt wouldn't notice he was wearing the same clothes from the day before. But it was too late to drive back home and change. It was also too late to drive to the nearest shop to buy some hair gel.

He would just have to step up to Kurt the way he was and hope that Kurt didn't run away screaming. Maybe if he had some gift to distract him with... Suddenly Blaine realized that he really should have gotten Kurt some kind of apology gift! At least he could have bought Kurt some flowers. Roses! But of course now it was too late to get some! With a groan he buried his face into his hands.

"Screw my life!" he murmured, banging his forehead on the table.

Well, the least he could do was get Kurt some coffee. So Blaine got in line and ordered Kurt's favorite as well as another one for himself and settled down at his table again, glancing at his watch.

Kurt was late by a couple of minutes.

Blaine drummed his fingers on the table.

Kurt was never late.

Did he keep him waiting on purpose? Sure he deserved it but Kurt wasn't cruel like that.

Did he have an accident on the way? Did he change his mind about meeting him? From his seat Blaine had a straight view to the door and he watched it impatiently. However, he couldn't see the parking lot. Somehow that made him nervous.

After a few more minutes Blaine scooped up the two cups of coffee and walked across the shop to peek out of one of the windows overviewing the parking lot.

This was the second his heart froze.

Outside there was Kurt standing next to his Navigator, his back to the coffee shop. He was talking to a tall slender guy whose nasty grin and arrogance was beaming all the way over into the Lima Bean to pierce a stab right through Blaine's stomach.

Oh God! Sebastian was talking to Kurt!

Blaine hurried outside and crossed the parking lot as fast as he could without actually running and tried not to look as panicked as he felt.

"Heeeey!" he said as he approached them, meaning to sound cheerful but his voice sounded wrong even to his own ears. "There you are, Kurt! I was already wondering..." He stopped next to his boyfriend, holding up the two coffees for dear life.

Kurt's face was stone-like and pale as he was glowering at Sebastian.

"Oh hey, _Blainers_!" Sebastian greeted him with a wide grin and Blaine hated how Sebastian used his mother's nickname for him. "We were just talking about you!" Sebastian said airily.

A fear crept up inside of Blaine and he searched Kurt's face for a hint of his mood or a clue of what has been said so far, but Kurt's face was expressionless which usually wasn't a good sign.

"I was just saying how much I adore _all_ of your performances!" Sebastian elaborated and winked at Blaine. "You know, at the musical, at Sectionals, in _bed_..."

Blaine's gaze strayed to Kurt before he shot Sebastian a hateful glance. "You better get lost, Sebastian. Neither of us wants to hear what you've got to say."

"Ouch! Such harsh words!" Sebastian put a hand on his heart as if he was wounded. "But Kurt and I were having such a lovely little chat. N'est-ce pas?" Sebastian turned to look at Kurt again, speaking French to him, knowing very well that Blaine didn't understand one word of that language.

Kurt replied to Sebastian in French and now Blaine was trapped helplessly between their French bitch talk, both with insanely wide fake smiles and their voices sharp as Ninja swords.

Blaine wanted to tell them to stop but he couldn't. It was like watching a train wreck happening, no, worse, it was like he was dead and watching his own funeral. Whatever Sebastian was telling Kurt was his death sentence. And he couldn't even punch Sebastian in front of Kurt without knowing what was being said, it would make him look like an angry Neanderthal and he didn't want to scare Kurt away with even more violence. He had to stay calm. So he concentrated on his breathing and tried not to freak out.

Easier said than done when he felt like throwing the coffees at Sebastian and kick him right in the nuts again because there wasn't anything he could do to stop Sebastian from ruining his life.

The exchange didn't take long but far too long for Blaine's scarred little heart pounding in his chest like a frightened rabbit in a cage.

Finally Sebastian made his excuses. He smiled at Blaine and licked his lips in an alluring way. "Gotta dash but I'm sure I'll be seeing more of _you_ another time, _tiger_."

Blaine couldn't reply anything to that except pull a disgusted face and silently thank the heavens above that Sebastian left.

Kurt let out a long sigh, probably having similar thoughts.

Blaine searched Kurt's face again anxiously, trying to find out how much damage was done.

"Is that for me?" Kurt took the coffee with his name written across the cup and lifted it to his lips. "Thanks, I really need something strong now."

"What did Sebastian tell you?"

"Nothing worth repeating," Kurt said, wrinkling up his nose, not looking at Blaine but gazing after Sebastian's car.

With his free hand Blaine reached out to take Kurt's hand, but at the same time Kurt raised his own free hand to fumble with his scarf. This little movement was enough to stir up Blaine's paranoia. Had Kurt anticipated his move and avoided his touch because he hated him now? Blaine snapped.

"WHAT THE HELL DID HE TELL YOU? I NEED TO KNOW!"

He yelled in sheer panic and grabbed Kurt's arm. Kurt looked at him, his eyes wide with shock, spilling some of his coffee over his hand when Blaine yanked at his arm.

"Blaine!" Blue eyes were piercing into his own, holding him in place, not letting him break eye contact. "Calm down."

Blaine took a deep breath and nodded quickly, letting Kurt's eyes steady him.

But a new wave of panic was washing over him. Oh no, he'd lost his temper again!

"Oh God, Kurt, I'm sorry," Blaine took his hand away which he realized was still clutching hard at Kurt's arm. "I... I didn't mean to yell at you." Blaine said near tears. "It's just... whatever he told you, it's not true!"

Kurt looked at him with wide searching eyes. Blaine expected him to say, 'That's it, I'm not gonna let you yell at me like that. I'm done with you.'

Instead Kurt nodded towards his Navigator and said calmly, "Get in my car."

"What?" Blaine stared at him as if he was talking in a foreign language again.

"I said get in my car," Kurt repeated and then tilted his head and added with a cute voice, "Please?"

Kurt opened the passenger side's door and waited until Blaine got in, then closed the door with a soft click and went around the hood to take his seat behind the steering wheel. Blaine thought Kurt wanted to talk in the car, safe from the prying eyes of bypassers on the street. Instead Kurt put his coffee into the cup holder and started the engine, stirring his car slowly off the parking lot. He shot Blaine a sideway's glance. "Buckle up."

Blaine put his coffee into the holder next to Kurt's to fumble with his seat belt. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see," Kurt answered mysteriously.

Blaine clasped his hands together in his lap to stop his hands from shaking. "Kurt, about last night..."

"Sshh," Kurt raised one finger to his lips. "Let's not talk about it in the car."

"Okay," Blaine agreed. However, he couldn't just sit still and silent next to Kurt, it made him feel like all those awful times when he had been in the car with his parents as a little kid and his parents just had a fight and wouldn't talk to each other. The silence would kill him. He needed to talk to Kurt, if only some light chatter.

"So what's going on in the girl's camp?" Blaine asked. "Tell me more about your fight with Sugar."

"Well, actually Rachel and Sugar were fighting at first," Kurt answered. "Sugar was accusing Rachel of not having any talent and we had to restrain Rachel from stuffing her NYADA letter down Sugar's throat." Kurt chuckled at the image. "Don't get me wrong. I like Sugar. She's got an enviable self-confidence. She's sweet and funny, but do I think she's talented? _Deeply and importantly talented? No. Amusingly and superficially, yes._"

Blaine squinted his eyes because he had heard that line somewhere before. Was Kurt quoting a line from a movie?

"But still she's got one big advantage." Kurt let out a sigh. "She's a girl."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Blaine chuckled. "You don't want to be a girl."

"No, 'course not but if I was at least I'd... Oh, never mind." Kurt broke off with a sigh.

"What? What did you wanna say?" Blaine prompted.

"No really, I can't." Kurt inclined his head at Blaine and pulled a face. "Competition secrets. The girls will kill me if I blurt out our decisions concerning the girls vs boys."

"But it's something you're not happy about?" Blaine guessed and he guessed right. Kurt's slight shrug and sad smile was telling enough. Kurt had been so excited about the girls versus boys competition but now something happened that clearly had crushed his spirits.

Blaine stared out of the windshield to get a clue to where they were going. After a few turns he noticed that Kurt left town and drove off towards a small hill in the woods surrounding Lima.

While they were driving Blaine took the opportunity to check out Kurt's clothes, noticing that his boyfriend had dressed up for their meeting. He wore his favorite knee-high black boots, a white skinny jeans and his creamy white burberry trenchcoat. Also a purple light scarf with a firm knot around his neck. Blaine was sure Kurt hadn't planned to go hiking with him. Yet he drove down the forest road right into the woods.

Kurt turned into a narrow road leading up the hill and Blaine wanted to point out that there was no space to avoid a crash if another car came down the same road but then he trusted Kurt to know where he was going.

"Are you going to expose of me here?" Blaine asked jokingly, not able to remain silent any longer. "Kick me out of your car and leave me in the woods to die?"

This made Kurt chuckle. "Oh darling, I'm not going to leave you! _Cross my heart and kiss my elbow!_"

Blaine looked at him longingly. Oh Kurt, can you repeat these words without laughing, please?

After driving up the hill for a while Kurt left the road and followed a narrow path until they reached a small clearing where Kurt parked his car. He unbuckled his belt and checked his appearance in the rearview mirror, touching the bags under his eyes with his fingertips.

"Gosh, I look like crap," Kurt sighed but added with a funny voice, "but ah well, _there are certain shades of limelight that can wreck a girl's complexion._" The close-mouthed giggle that followed helped easing Blaine's tension. Apparently Kurt was in a good mood despite of all the shit going on right now. However, Blaine couldn't help but cast him a puzzled look. He didn't like that Kurt was referring to himself as a girl.

Kurt took his coffee and got out of the car. Blaine followed him. However, there was nowhere to go. They were surrounded by trees and bushes and a big rock.

Kurt walked off towards the rock.

"Where are you going?"

To Blaine's utter surprise Kurt squeezed himself along the rock wall, holding a nasty branch out of the way and reaching back to offer his hand. "Follow me."

Blaine's heart skipped a beat as he took Kurt's hand. In this moment holding Kurt's hand meant everything to him.

They fought their way through a couple of more bushes, always alongside the rock and trying not to lose their coffee cups. Blaine noticed that it was an actual footpath they were following, it was just overgrown. When they finally reached another clearing Blaine was overwhelmed by the view.

They were higher up than he'd expected and in front of them was Lima and some towns beyond. With the sun shining through the trees and no sounds but the chirping of birds it was a beautiful peaceful little spot on earth. Also with the big rock in his back and the whole of Lima in front of him Blaine felt safe. This was a secret place. There was no one but the two of them and a few birds and squirrels in the trees.

Granted, the slope to their feet looked rocky and was dangerously steep but if you stayed away from the edge you had nothing to worry about.

It was windy up here but the cold air was refreshing and Blaine shifted closer until his shoulder touched Kurt's shoulder.

"You've got leaves and thistles all over you." Blaine pointed out, knowing how much Kurt hated dirt on his clothes but he didn't want to let go of Kurt's hand to help him brush it off.

Kurt just shrugged and took a long sip of his coffee, then sighed and let his gaze stray into the distance. It was beautiful up here, standing next to Kurt, hand in hand and each holding their coffees, just enjoying the view together.

"What is this place?" Blaine asked when Kurt wouldn't speak.

"This is where I go to when I need to be alone," Kurt explained. "To clear my head. To escape from reality. Or just to scream my head off." He gave Blaine's hand a little squeeze. "So if you need to do some more yelling today, you're welcome."

"I guess I've done enough yelling. Sorry about that." Blaine turned an apologetic gaze at his boyfriend. "So, really? You come here to yell at the trees?"

"I used to come here a lot, yes," Kurt admitted and his eyes strayed down the steep slope. "At the time when my dad was in a coma I was even tempted to jump."

Blaine looked at him in silent shock, knowing from the seriousness in Kurt's voice that he meant it. He followed Kurt's eyes down the hillside and imagined being so alone in the world that the fear of losing your only relative made you consider suicide, and his heart ached at the thought that his boyfriend had once felt so hopeless.

Without a word Blaine turned around and pulled Kurt into a hug.

Immediately Kurt wrapped his arms around Blaine's back and they held each other tight for a long time, not speaking but breathing hard and feeling each other's heartbeat.

Also, trying not to spill their coffees over one another's backs.

"Sometimes I feel like smashing mirrors, too, you know?" Kurt said with a sad smile when they parted again. "I understand that feeling."

"About last night..." Blaine started but Kurt cut him off.

"Let's sit down, okay? I feel a little weak..." Kurt swayed a little and Blaine grabbed his arm for support. "Baby, what is it? Are you gonna faint?" Blaine led his boyfriend over to a long smooth rock that was like a perfect bench up here.

"I just haven't eaten anything yet, that's all," Kurt said, sitting down and folding both hands around his coffee.

"You should never skip breakfast," Blaine said worried, although he hadn't eaten anything himself.

"I just couldn't eat anything," Kurt gave a slight shrug and tilted his head towards Blaine.

Blaine took Kurt's hand and laced their fingers together before he raised it to his mouth to kiss the back of it.

A smile appeared on Kurt's lips. "Okay, let's talk. Ladies first?" At Blaine's raised eyebrow Kurt added with a grin, "That'd be me then."

"Kurt," Blaine chided gently. "I don't like it when you refer to yourself as a girl."

"Oh, c'mon, we have established right from the start that I'd be the Sally to your Harry." Kurt winked at him. "But all right, let's get serious. You asked what Sebastian was just saying to me." Kurt looked Blaine square in the eyes and shook his head slowly. "Blaine, it doesn't matter what he said. His words can't touch us."

"But he's on a mission to tear us apart!" Blaine tried to point out the seriousness of the situation. "He tries to play us against each other."

"I know that Sebastian has a huge crush on you. He's desperate, because he's biting on granite at your end, so now he tries to weaken me." Kurt said with a one-sided shrug. "He wants to scare me away, but he won't succeed. I won't let him get to me or to us."

Blaine looked at Kurt, at this incredible wonderful strong person sitting next to him.

"Why not?" Blaine asked quietly, almost inaudibly.

"Because I love you too much to give up on you," Kurt said firmly and squeezed Blaine's hand for emphasis. "And I know you feel the same way about me. Sebastian has no chance to tear us apart."

Was it really this easy? Blaine's heart was beating painfully in his chest as he nodded to Kurt's words.

"I'm sorry I spoke in French with him, I shouldn't have done that in front of you," Kurt took another sip of his coffee. "If you want me to I'll repeat every word we said in English, but trust me, it's really not worth repeating. I didn't really listen to what he said anyway because I was too distracted by his giant horse teeth. They're huge! It's just impossible to look away!"

Kurt laughed again and Blaine felt so happy he could cry. He had expected Kurt to be jealous and angry and accusing him of cheating or whatever. But all Kurt did was making fun of Sebastian's teeth. A tear slipped down Blaine's cheek slowly and he bowed his head, feeling so relieved.

Kurt put his coffee on the ground and Blaine closed his eyes when he felt Kurt's thumb on his face, stroking the tear away, and he leaned into the touch as Kurt cupped his cheek.

"I'm so sorry about last night," Kurt said with a soft voice.

Blaine looked up, baffled. "What are you sorry for? You have nothing to be sorry for, Kurt!"

Kurt put his hand over Blaine's lips. "Ssh, honey, please hear me out."

Blaine looked down at their linked hands and nodded.

"I'm sorry I left," Kurt said, giving him a rueful smile. "I was afraid that if I stayed you'd get yourself into such a fit of rage you couldn't snap out of it anymore and hurt yourself even more than you already did."

"Hurt myself? You were afraid I'd hurt _myself_?" Blaine clutched the warm cup of coffee to his chest. "Weren't you scared I'd hurt you?"

"Hurt me? No," Kurt said with genuine surprise. "You wouldn't hurt me."

"I pushed you," Blaine gave him a long-suffering look.

"You didn't mean to hurt me," Kurt locked eyes with him. "Blaine, I've been shoved enough times by guys who meant to hurt me to be able to tell the difference. But to tell the truth, I didn't know how to handle you. I tried to stay calm as not to trigger you even more. It took a lot not to let my bitchy side take over."

"Kurt, it won't happen again, I promise!"

"Don't make promises you can't keep, darling." Kurt put his hand on top of their linked fingers, stroking Blaine's knuckles. "Blaine, I know there is this anger buried deep inside of you, the kind of anger you have no control over. I also know that horrible things must've happened to you in your past, things worse than my experiences with Karofsky or the occasional slushy in the face. I understand that you don't want to share these dark memories with me. With anyone."

Blaine bowed his head and chewed on his lower lip. Kurt let his fingers run along the line of Blaine's jaw, and with one finger lifting his chin, making him look up and meet his eyes. "But honey, you gotta find a way to let these emotions out and deal with them. Because I don't want something like last night to happen again."

"I don't want that either," Blaine agreed with a tiny voice.

"Good, then consider yourself warned because the next time you go all mad on me again for no reason but your own insecurities I'm gonna knock you out for your own safety." Kurt gave him a crooked grin.

Blaine smothered a laugh. "Okay, you can hit me as much as you want to. I deserve it."

"Blaine, I'm worried about you," Kurt turned serious again. "I don't want all those dark memories to eat you up from inside. I know that these kind of bad memories are impossible to forget and the more you choke them down they'll find a way back to the surface."

"I'm fine, Kurt," Blaine said automatically.

"No, you're not!" Kurt objected and gave his hand a rough little shake. "And for this downright lie I should slap you across your head."

"I'm sorry," Blaine sighed. "You're right. I'm stressed out lately. I get angry at the tiniest things."

"Please understand that I don't blame you for being angry, Blaine," Kurt said. "But I want you to find a way to _heal_. You need to cope with your past. Don't you think that perhaps talking about it would help? Honey, please know that you can count on me to do whatever you need me to do."

Blaine looked up again and into Kurt's concerned eyes. He loved the way Kurt always used terms of endearment when he talked to him. Before he'd met Kurt he'd never thought he was much of a pet name person.

"I thought I'd coped with my past a long time ago. But somehow... the way Sebastian's stalking me reminds me of stuff I thought I'd forgotten," Blaine finally admitted. "He's... he doesn't leave me alone no matter how often I tell him to get lost. It's not just words or harmless flirting anymore." Blaine squeezed Kurt's hand tight for support. "He's touching me, groping me and he kissed me once and when I defend myself he says it only turns him on even more." Blaine shook his head. "He's threatened to destroy our relationship if I didn't do what he asked. That's why I was so on the edge when I saw him talking to you."

"Blaine, this is a serious matter," Kurt had gone pale and his grip on Blaine's hand tightened as well. "You gotta tell anyone. He can't get away with this, he must be charged!"

"I told my dad!" Blaine replied with a bitter laugh. "I told him that Sebastian was harassing me, you know, _sexually_," Blaine shrugged, it was still hard saying these things out loud. "My dad said there was nothing I could do about it because Sebastian's father was a freaking rich VIP and I'd better not mess with him."

"All right, I'm going to kill him!" Kurt declared fiercely. "The next time Sebastian just _looks_ at you I'm gonna kill him! And if your parents don't take you seriously I want you to come and live with us. I'm sure my dad and Carole would be okay with it and..."

"No, no, baby, it's all right." Blaine smiled at Kurt gratefully. How could he ever have worried that Kurt wouldn't believe him? It was an enormous relief to tell his troubles to someone who believed him and continued to stay by his side. Kurt's outrage was genuine and it made Blaine happy to know that he cared so much about him. "Thank you but there's no need for me to move in with you..."

"No, I'm serious!" Kurt exclaimed. "I don't want you to be home alone with this smirky meerkat lurking about just waiting for his chance to jump you!"

"Well, I'm going to talk to my mom about it today," Blaine said, surprising himself. But after the talk over the phone with his mother he had his hopes up that his mother's concern about him was genuine. "We talked last night and she apologized to me," he told Kurt. "She even told me to ask you to come for coffee and cup cakes today. That is, if you like."

Kurt considered the invitation and narrowed his eyes. "If you want me to come I'll come with you for emotional support. But I think it might be better if you and your mother took the opportunity to talk alone and you know, make up. I suppose there's a lot of stuff you guys should settle first without me sitting on the couch between you. If your mother wants to invite me again, however, I'd love to come another time."

"I guess you're right." Blaine nodded and sighed. "Kurt, I'm so sorry I lied to you about Sebastian and kept secrets from you. I thought I could deal with it on my own and I just wasn't ready to talk about it..."

"It's all right," Kurt assured him. "Now you know you're not alone in this. You've got me and I've got your back if you let me."

Blaine put his coffee down and latched both hands on Kurt's tightly. "So you forgive me for everything?"

"Well," Kurt smiled sadly and drew a breath. "I have my own confession to make. I kept secrets from you, too."

Blaine looked at him stunned.

Kurt licked his lips and tilted his head. "You probably have heard by now that Rachel got her NYADA letter?" He took Blaine's silence as a yes and continued. "Remember when we were on the phone the other day and I said I hadn't received my NYADA letter yet?"

Blaine nodded numbly.

Kurt sighed. "Well, I had. But I found I wasn't ready to talk about it. Because when I finally held the letter in my hands it was like reality hit me. This was it. I was holding my future in my hands. What if the letter told me I was accepted? It would mean that I would go to New York in a couple of months." Kurt squeezed Blaine's hands harder and smiled teary-eyed. "Something I've dreamed about for _years_ suddenly was within reach and it scared me. I needed some more time to think about what I really want _today_, that's why I didn't tell anyone. Of course Rachel figured that I must have gotten a letter, too, and believe me, she's giving me a hard time about it."

"What does the letter say?" Blaine asked quietly, trying not to look as scared as he was. "Are you a finalist?"

Kurt held his gaze and a loving smile curled up his lips as he lifted his hand up again to tuck a stray curl of Blaine's dark hair behind his ear. "I really like your hair like this. It's so soft." Kurt let his fingers run through Blaine's curls, slowly caressing his scalp with his fingertips and Blaine was tempted to just close his eyes and lose himself into the sensation of Kurt's hand in his hair. He raised his hand and caught Kurt's to hold it.

"Just tell me," Blaine said with an encouraging smile. He didn't want Kurt to think he wouldn't support him when he left for New York. Although it would be hard, somehow they'd manage to succeed in this distant relationship challenge. "I want to know if I can look forward to receiving picture postcards from New York."

Without another word Kurt reached into the inside pocket of his coat. A second later he held a letter out for Blaine to take. The envelope was crinkled as if Kurt had carried it around and touched it a lot over the past few days.

Blaine took it carefully and looked at the sender. "It's your NYADA letter," he stated the obvious and then looked up at Kurt incredulously. "You haven't opened it yet!"

Kurt nodded firmly and kept his eyes on Blaine. "Because I don't care what it says."

"What do you mean you don't care?" Blaine exclaimed aghast and looked at Kurt as if his boyfriend had gone insane. "This is your future, Kurt! This is all you've ever dreamed of!"

Kurt took the letter back from Blaine's hands and without batting an eye he tore the envelope into pieces again and again and again.

"Kurt! Stop it! What are you doing?" Blaine took the pieces of the letter away from Kurt before he could tear at it once more.

"I'm not going to New York," Kurt said matter-of-factly.

"What? But this is your dream!"

"No, it's not." Kurt shook his head with a sweet smile on his lips. "You are my dream. I don't want to lose you, Blaine, I don't even want to _risk_ losing you and what we have.

"Don't do this, Kurt," Blaine shook his head fiercely. "Don't give up New York just because I got all whiny about it yesterday."

"This has nothing to do with what you said to me last night," Kurt assured him. "When I got the letter I realized that going to New York would mean that I had to go there without you. And I'm not ready for that."

Kurt shrugged.

"Believe me, I've had a nightlong discussion about it with my parents and we talked about all options, you know, weighing the pros and cons, but in the end they said it was my decision and they'd have my back whatever I decide. Now, I'm a big boy, I'm strong and independent and I can definitely make it on my own. I have no doubt about that."

Kurt smiled down at their hands and rubbed small circles into the back of Blaine's good hand. "But I don't _want_ to. The day I'm leaving for New York I want you to be with me."

"But Kurt, you're gonna _lose_ one year!"

"What's another year in Lima?" Kurt shrugged again. "As long as it's a year that I can spend with you. That's all that matters to me. I'm gonna find me a job and save some money so we can buy fabulous new stuff for our first flat together. If I can't find a job I can always work at my dad's."

"Are you really sure about this?" Blaine looked like Kurt had grown two heads. "I don't want you to do this for me because, well, you know, you might regret it one day."

"Blaine, I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it for me," Kurt said, and his eyes glistened when he repeated the words Blaine had once said to him, "because I can't stand to be apart from the person I love."

Blaine melted at the sight of that toothless smile and his eyes welled up with tears.

"You'll always come first, Blaine. I love you more than I love standing on a stage in the spotlight. I don't want a distant relationship. Whenever I need you I want you to be within reach. A phone call won't do it for me. I need a hand to hold and a look into your eyes, and not on a computer screen. I need to feel you, I need you to be right here. I can't have that when I'm in New York."

Kurt smoothed one finger over Blaine's eyebrows and got all teary-eyes himself.

"Also, when you need me, I want to be able to drive to you and see you within the hour. Whenever I try to imagine what it would be like to be so far apart from you I get all emotional."

Blaine felt an immense weight lift off his heart when the fact slowly sunk in.

Kurt would stay. He wouldn't leave.

The sheer relief brought tears to his eyes and he felt like he could finally breathe properly again. Even after he'd treated Kurt so badly and kept stuff from him he still stood by his side. How did he deserve such an amazing boyfriend?

"I love you so much," Blaine whispered, his voice heavy with gratitude.

He captured Kurt's face with both hands and kissed him. His lips tasted salty from his tears mixed with coffee.

"I love you, too," Kurt whispered against his lips and rested his forehead against Blaine's.

Blaine pushed his chin forward to meet Kurt's lips again. It was a tender kiss at first but after a moment it grew deeper, more desperate and passionate.

"We could've done this last night, you know?" Kurt teased him when he caught his breath after a while.

"I promise next time I'll use my energy only to please you," Blaine promised. "No more breaking mirrors."

Blaine traced his hand over Kurt's leg and rested it on his knee. "By the way, I really like your clothes today. Why didn't you tell me last night that you wore Finn's clothes because you'd been slushied?"

"I didn't want to upset you," Kurt replied and rolled his eyes at his own words. "Just look at us, a fine pair we are," Kurt said, trailing a hand down Blaine's chest, "keeping stuff from each other in a poor attempt not to upset each other. But Blaine, it hurts me to see you're trying to deal with problems on your own and not confide in me. We've always been honest with each other. If we now start having secrets one day we might feel like we can't tell each other anything anymore. I appreciate that you don't want to upset me but you can't stop me from worrying about you anyway so you might as well tell me what's going on."

"You're right," Blaine agreed. "No more secrets."

"No more secrets!" Kurt confirmed.

"So…" Blaine waved the torn pieces of the letter at him. "Don't you wanna know what it says?"

Kurt shook his head frantically, almost terrified.

"You gotta read it," Blaine insisted.

"No, no, no, I'm not ready for it!" Kurt hunched over and hid his face in his hands.

"You cannot _not_ read it, Kurt," Blaine said. "You know, at least you gotta tell them that you're not going."

"Oh Gosh, alright, but _hand_ _me my purse, will you, darling_?" Kurt sat up straight again, smoothing his hands over his legs. _"A girl can't read that sort of thing without her lipstick."_

For a second Blaine looked around in confusion because Kurt didn't bring his satchel but then it finally clicked and Blaine grinned from ear to ear because now he was certain that Kurt was quoting lines from a movie.

With trembling hands Blaine put the pieces of the letter back together. Part of him was hoping that Kurt had failed because his decision to stay - his sacrifice - would be less painful then. "Dear Mr Hummel," Blaine read in a murmur, "we're delighted to inform you... Kurt, you made it!" Blaine looked up with tears in his eyes. "You're a finalist!"

"Oh God, really?" Kurt let out a little happy squeal and launched himself into Blaine's arms. Blaine hugged him tight, feeling proud of his boyfriend and at the same time so sad and guilty.

"I'm a finalist!" Kurt let out a happy sigh.

"You can still go," Blaine said hoarsely.

"No, I made up my mind already. I'll stay." Kurt leaned back again and wiped at his eyes, he was beaming with pride. "But when I made it this year chances are pretty good that I can make it next year again, don't you think?"

Blaine nodded and took a deep breath, suddenly feeling overwhelmed by his love for his boyfriend.

"Did I tell you how _divinely_ and _utterly_ happy I am?" Blaine smiled cheekily at Kurt, waiting for him to get the clue.

Kurt's face lit up, instantly recognizing the words and grinned back at Blaine. "Why, I certainly hope so, _Fred_."

"_I am not nor have I ever been Fred,"_ Blaine knew the lines by heart.

"You know your lines very well, Mr Anderson," Kurt teased with an amused spark in his eyes.

Blaine smiled cheekily. "You've watched _Breakfast at Tiffany's_ last night, didn't you? You already made four references to the movie in the last fifteen minutes."

"I'm impressed," Kurt smiled. "How come that you know the movie so well that you recognize quotes from it?"

"I've seen it like a hundred times together with my mom, but I never really liked it that much," Blaine admitted and when Kurt shot him an incredulous look he added, "I mean Audrey Hepburn throws her cat out of the car to abandon it! The poor cat doesn't even have a name!"

"So your mom made you sit through a movie you hate again and again?" Kurt raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"Well, not really. It's just that my mom's totally into Audrey Hepburn movies and I just liked sitting with her when she watched them. Did I ever tell you that my mom actually named our cat after the movie?"

"The only thing I like about your cat is the name," Kurt chuckled.

"You know I had thought that you and my mother would get along so well because you're into the same movies and stuff. But she never gave you a chance."

"Perhaps she's ready to do it now," Kurt offered with a reassuring smile. "Besides, she's got no other choice but to get used to me because I'm gonna stick around whether she likes it or not."

Suddenly Kurt shivered and closed his scarf more tightly around his neck. "Geez I forgot about how chilly it can get up here. Let's get back to the car."

* * *

><p>They fought their way back along the rock and through the bushes until they reached the clearing again. This time Blaine helped Kurt brush off all the dirt from his coat and pants. Kurt laughed and batted Blaine's hand away playfully when Blaine insisted that there was particularly much dirt on Kurt's backside.<p>

"Backseat?" Blaine asked with a hopeful raise of his eyebrows.

"Backseat it is."

They sat close to each other in the back of Kurt's car. Blaine placed his hand on Kurt's neck, caressing the warm smooth skin and trying to unknot his boyfriend's scarf. He needed to feel more of Kurt's skin.

"Wait. Tell me something about your old high school," Kurt asked, taking Blaine's hand and placing a kiss on his bruised knuckles. "Anything."

"Now?" Blaine didn't want to talk about it.

"Please. Anything."

Caught in the gaze of that earnest blue eyes Blaine gave in. He took a deep breath and searched his memories for something that wasn't too hard to tell. But none of it was easy.

"Remember when you told me about how you and Mercedes became friends and how she thought you were dating?"

Kurt rolled his eyes with an affectionate grin tugging at his lips. "Geez, the girl busted my car window, how could I ever forget that?"

"Well, in the first couple of days in high school I was pretty much a loner until I met this girl, Jenn, and we became like best friends right from the start." Blaine tilted his head and bit his lip. "One day she tried to kiss me. It turned out she had been thinking that we were dating the whole time. She was my friend so she deserved to know the truth. I told her that I was gay."

Kurt watched him with a tension that was palpable. "What happened?"

"Unfortunately, she didn't believe me," Blaine answered. "She had a very low self-esteem and thought I'd made it up as an excuse so I wouldn't have to date her and that I was a coward not to tell her what she thought was the truth. That I thought she was unattractive or something. I wish she'd busted my car window."

Blaine let out a bitter laugh. "Instead she did something worse. To pay me back for breaking her heart Jenn outed me. She told everyone at school that I was gay. Although she didn't really think that I was actually gay she wanted me to become the gay dude at school. She wanted to humiliate me and ruin my reputation. Well, she succeeded in that. She told vicious stories about me and because of that some guys started picking on me. And that's when my life in high school became hell. I tried to tell someone what was happening. But you know, the teachers just shrugged and told me that if I was gay my life was going to be miserable. Better get used to it."

Blaine looked down at their hands, so glad Kurt's hand was there for him to hold.

"Well then let's prove them all wrong," Kurt whispered close to his ear, making him shiver, "by making your life wonderful."

He cupped Blaine's face in one hand and stroked his thumb over his cheek before claiming his lips with his own. They kissed and everything else faded away. Dark memories and fears. The past became meaningless, all that mattered was the wonderful and exciting touch of Kurt's hands and lips and their bodies close together, sharing a heat and passion and love for one another that no one could ever take away from them.

* * *

><p><strong>Quotes from the movie <strong>_**Breakfast at Tiffany's**_**:**

"Do I think she's talented? Deeply and importantly talented? No. Amusingly and superficially, yes."

"Cross my heart and kiss my elbow!"

"There are certain shades of limelight that can wreck a girl's complexion."

"Hand me my purse, will you, darling? A girl can't read that sort of thing without her lipstick."

"Did I tell you how divinely and utterly happy I am?"

"I am not nor have I ever been Fred."

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><p><strong>Next chapter: <strong>

**Blaine has to deal with a furious Rachel Berry.**

**Rick the Stick gets into trouble.**

**Blaine and the ND boys give a very special impromptu performance on Monday and end up in Principal Figgins office. ;) **

**Also, Blaine has an appointment with Mrs Pillsbury to talk about his future. Perhaps Kurt doesn't have to stay in Lima on his behalf?**

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><p><strong>If you liked this chapter please review! :D<strong>


	22. A Lot Of Love

**Hi everyone! I'm so sorry for the long delay on this story. Thanks for being patient with me!**

**A very special thanks to _WhatKatyDidNext_. I really enjoyed what you wrote to me about Kurt's decision to stay in Lima for another year. You'll recognize some of your wise words coming from Mike's mouth in this chapter. ;)**

**WARNING: This chapter's turned out angsty but there's fluff in the end because we all need some Klaine love right now.**

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><p><strong>A Lot Of Love<strong>

"NO, ELAINE, THAT'S THE POINT!"

"AS IF YOU'D CARE! WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU..."

"OH, DON'T YOU START AGAIN!"

"I'M NOT THE ONE WHO STARTED THIS ARGUMENT, HOWARD!"

"AND YOU'RE SURE AS HELL NOT THE ONE TO END IT!"

"WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO?"

"HOW ABOUT YOU JUST SHUT UP FOR ONCE?"

"OH RIGHT, NOW IT'S ME WHO..."

"SHUT UP, ELAINE!"

"YOU DON'T GET TO TELL ME TO SHUT UP!"

As his parents moved from the master bedroom across the hallway Blaine stepped back from the crack in his door he'd been standing spying on his parents and quietly clicked his door shut. His father had just gotten home two hours ago from his trip to Chicago and almost the instant he'd walked through the door the fighting had begun. They fought occasionally, all married couples did, right? But lately it had gotten worse. Much worse.

Blaine cranked his music up to drown out the yelling and lay down on his bed. He was completely and utterly exhausted. It was Sunday night and the boys had spent all day long practicing not only for the boys vs girls competition but also for their impromptu performance on Monday, Finn's crazy idea. It had been fun, really, but right now he couldn't even feel his limps anymore.

He just wanted to lie in peace and wait for Kurt's call before he passed out for the night. The boys had met in Mike's amazing basement for the dance choreography and after everybody had gone home Blaine had stayed behind with Mike. He'd told Mike about Kurt's plans to postpone his departure to New York. After his initial enthusiasm and relief about it Blaine was left feeling incredible guilty for making Kurt stay.

"You're not _making_ him stay," Mike had pointed out.

"In a way I am," Blaine had said with a shrug, slouched tiredly on Mike's sofa. "If it wasn't for me nothing would be able to stop him from going."

"Look, Kurt's a strong guy, you could never make him do something he didn't wanna do." Mike had been sitting indian style on his bed, juggling with three apples, his eyes always on the one in the air. "Besides, he's not doing anything you wouldn't do for him, too, right? You changed schools to be with him. You'd move mountains to be with him. Why not let him do the same for you?"

"Because it's not the same."

"Maybe not per se, but in the greater context it surely is," Mike had said, cocking his head. "In my opinion, part of being in a mature relationship is making said relationship a priority while still maintaining your own life."

"Still, I can't let him give up his dreams on my behalf."

Mike had been shaking his head slowly while changing the rhythm of his juggling, the constant _thump_ _thump_ _thump_ of apple falling into palm had been somehow soothing to Blaine.

"Kurt's not giving up his dreams at all. Looks to me like he's ensuring that he gets the exact dream he wants which is being in New York with you. You already know you're going to the same place, so it's not surprising that Kurt wants to go there together."

"You think so?"

Mike had caught all three apples in one hand and then tossed one to Blaine. "Definitely."

Blaine had caught the apple and sighed. "I just need to make sure it's really what he wants."

"...AINE!"

Blaine rolled his eyes at the sound of his father yelling. His parents were so stupid at times. Did they always have to shout out to each other through the whole house? He was sure even the neighbors could hear them.

He grabbed the remote to the stereo and turned the volume up even more. He was sick of having to listen to them fighting. For a moment he mouthed along to I Kissed A Girl but it only made him think of Rachel so he changed to Hot N' Cold and tapped the rhythm out on his stomach, glancing at his phone. Kurt would be calling any minute now.

"BLAINE!"

Blaine jerked up when his door was opened and his furious father was standing in the doorway.

"Are you deaf? I'm calling you!"

Blaine rose up on his elbows wearily. "I thought you were calling Mom."

"No wonder you can't hear me calling with this crap turned up." Howard came in, bent down and yanked the cord of Blaine's stereo out of the wall. The music died with a thump.

"That's no crap, it's Katy Perry," Blaine said with a sigh. "And I'm not the one who gave my son a name that's rhyming with my wife's name."

"Don't you get funny with me," Howard stuck his finger into Blaine's face. "Now come downstairs and take a look at the mess."

"What mess?" Blaine demanded.

"Your goddamn cat threw up on the kitchen floor, it's disgusting!"

Blaine was on his feet immediately.

"What's wrong with Tiffy?" Blaine asked his mother as he rushed into the kitchen. Tiffany was sitting in the corner, shivering and growling quietly.

"I was gonna ask you the same thing," his mother said in a low and exasperated voice, rubbing her temples. "What have you been feeding the cat, Blainers?"

"Same as always," Blaine answered, kneeling down next to the cat and reaching out to pat and comfort her but Tiffy hissed at him and crouched farther into the corner. "Plus, I got her some tuna."

"Well, that's it then. No tuna fish for Tiffy anymore. Now could you please clean this up, I feel like puking myself just looking at it." His mother left for the living room and Blaine got a cleaning rag and wetted it to swipe the floor.

"Poor girl, you're not ill, are you?" he looked across the room to the white Persian cat. It was then that he noticed that Tiffany was slowly moving towards the open door, her back arched in an unusual angle. Blaine watched the cat with an increasing rush of panic taking hold of him.

"Mom, what's wrong with Tiffy?" he called out to his mother. "Why's she limping?"

"What?" His mother appeared in the salon door.

"Tiffy's limping, you see that?"

Elaine watched the cat with a frown.

"Howard? Didn't you say you tripped over the cat earlier?" Elaine asked her husband who was in the pantry, looking for something.

"Yeah, the little rat was in my way and wouldn't move so I kicked her."

"You _kicked_ her?" Blaine repeated incredulously.

"What?" Howard snapped. "I just nudged her out of the way. You'd rather I fell down the stairs and broke my neck?"

"How could you hurt the cat?" Elaine shook her head. "It's just a small, helpless animal."

"Helpless?" Howard let out a humorless laugh. "That little devil got sharp claws! I can't count the times the rat scratched me without reason!"

"I'm sure Tiffany has her reasons to scratch you," Elaine retorted.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"That means you're a selfish prick most of the time!"

"Now, Elaine, who's the selfish bitch in this house?"

"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?"

"I THINK YOU HEARD ME QUITE ALRIGHT!"

While his parents started fighting again Blaine carefully scooped the cat up. His heart ached when Tiffany let out a pained cry at his touch.

"I'll drive to the vet!" he informed his parents but he wasn't sure if they'd even heard him.

He gently put Tiffany into her cat carrier and when she didn't even protest or try to jump out again he knew for sure that she was hurt because usually he couldn't even get her anywhere near the detested box.

He got his things and hurried to his car, putting the carrier on the passenger seat to be able to keep an eye on Tiffany. On his iPhone he checked out the nearest vet with an emergency room and tapped the address into his GPS. Just as he started the engine of his car his phone rang. It was Kurt for their nightly talk.

"Kurt, I'm sorry I can't talk," Blaine spoke hastily. "I'm on my way to the vet with Tiff, I'll call you later when I get back, alright?"

"Which vet are you going to?" Kurt asked, presumably to be able to tell how long it'll take Blaine to call back.

"There's one in Kenton with a day and night emergency room. Call you later, bye!"

Blaine backed out of the driveway and on the road. All the while during the drive Tiffany let out a constant keening sound, breaking Blaine's heart. He talked in a low hushed voice with her, trying to soothe her but only managed to make himself cry.

"Everything's gonna be alright, Tiffy," he said, sweeping tears from his eyes. "You'll be alright."

How could his father kick Tiffany?

Didn't he know how much it hurt to get kicked? How much damage could be done by kicking someone?

Didn't he know the feeling of heavy boots crashing into your back and your stomach, hitting your body just everywhere, leaving broken bones and ugly painful bruises?

Didn't he know how humiliating it was to be on the ground, trying to protect your head with your arms, weak and helpless and to just wanting them to stop?

What it felt like to just wanting it to end? To rather be dead than wake up in this nightmare for yet another day? What it was like to feel like a piece of shit every single day of your life?

Blaine wiped at his eyes furiously and swallowed down a thick lump in his throat.

How could his father not know?

What it was like to just needing someone to say that things were gonna be alright.

* * *

><p>When he arrived at the veterinary clinic Blaine killed his engine in the parking lot and jumped out of the car, jogging around it to the passenger seat and gently getting the carrier out.<p>

To his dismay he had to learn that his cat wasn't the only emergency tonight. There was a dog that had gotten hit by a car in the treatment room and Blaine had to wait for an indefinite time until it was his turn.

So he sat down on one of the hard plastic chairs in the empty waiting room, tapping his foot nervously and biting his lips. He wished the doctor would hurry up because Tiffy's constant keening wore him out.

"It's okay, Tiff," he tried to soothe her and had to clear his throat. He rubbed his face, tired and worried. "You'll be alright, snowflake."

The door opened and Blaine turned to look at the new arrival, hoping it wasn't another dog or cat in worse shape than Tiffany with its owner claiming that their pet needed to be the next in line.

Blaine's heart stopped beating and for a long second he was sure that he was just seeing what his tired mind wanted to be seeing.

It was Kurt, his pale cheeks flushed from the cold and he was just pulling his scarf off, glancing around the place.

Blaine couldn't pinpoint what it was he felt upon seeing his boyfriend standing in the doorway but it had to be the most wonderful feeling of relief, gratefulness and love he'd ever felt before.

Kurt's eyes fell on Blaine, his beautiful features strained with concern. With long smooth strides he crossed the room and sat down next to Blaine like there was no explanation needed as to why he came.

"Hey," he said in a soft voice and leaned forward to catch a glance at Tiffany in the box. "How ya holding up girl?"

"Kurt," Blaine said, his voice already cracking. "You didn't have to come."

"No stopping me," Kurt said with a warm smile. "I was already on my way before you even hung up." Kurt slipped his hand into Blaine's naturally and entwined their fingers.

"I thought you hated Tiffany," Blaine said, not able to take his eyes from Kurt's face.

Kurt narrowed his brows and shook his head. "I don't _hate_ your cat, Blaine. We have our differences and I wouldn't trust her enough to stick my finger into that box. But we also got something in common." Kurt inclined his head towards Blaine. "We both love you."

Blaine hung his head with a smile.

"So, what's wrong with her?"

"My dad... ran into her," Blaine explained quietly and cleared his throat again. "I hope she hasn't got any broken bones or internal injuries."

"She's a tough girl, Blaine." Kurt squeezed his hand tight. "She'll be alright."

Blaine appreciated that Kurt didn't ask why his parents hadn't come along and why he was so emotional and whiny about a cat.

"Mr Anderson?" The doctor's assistant called out for him and Blaine looked up in distress.

"I'm with you," Kurt murmured and moved to pick up the cat carrier because Blaine's hands were shaking.

Blaine was worried about the apathetic state the cat was in while enduring the examination on the table. Normally Tiffany would be all teeth and claws by now.

"Nothing's broken," the doctor said. "She needs rest, no hectic, no wild games. I'll describe some meds that will help for the pain."

"But she threw up," Blaine said for what felt like the hundredth time. "That's a bad sign, isn't it? Doesn't it imply a concussion or something?"

"The vomiting has probably been a shock reaction to the violent impact."

"Probably?" Blaine asked. "Can't you check her to be sure?

All the while he felt Kurt standing beside him, his hand resting on the lower part of Blaine's back, letting him know he was there.

After a thorough examination the doctor assured him that the cat was mostly in shock but not physically injured. Relieved Blaine took Tiffany up on his arms and the cat snuggled into his chest, demanding to be petted.

"Looks like she just needs a lot of love to feel better," Kurt said with a smile.

* * *

><p>"Thanks for coming." Blaine had put the carrier into his car and was standing next to the driver's door. Kurt had parked his car right next to Blaine's.<p>

"No big deal," Kurt said with a shrug. "I thought you needed some company."

"How could you tell?" Blaine asked sheepishly.

"The sound of your voice," Kurt said, reaching out to brush Tiffany's white hair off Blaine's coat.

"We only talked for a few seconds."

"Still. I know you. And I know what it feels like when a family member falls ill."

"It's just a cat," Blaine said because he didn't want to compare his pet with Kurt's parents.

"It's not just a cat," Kurt disagreed. "It's Tiffany we're talking about and she's important to you."

Blaine nodded, not trusting his voice to speak. He leaned in to hug his boyfriend and Kurt enclosed his arms around him, holding him tight.

Despite what everyone might think of Kurt Hummel he had really strong arms and once he wrapped them around you you couldn't help but feel safe and secure. Blaine just loved burying his face into the crook of Kurt's neck and surrendering into his arms, be held by him and forget all the troubles in the world.

For a fleeting second he imagined what life would be like if Kurt already lived in New York while he was still stuck in Lima. A night like tonight would be impossible. Kurt wouldn't be able to just come over and comfort him just like that. And he wouldn't be able to return the comfort when Kurt was in need.

The thought made Blaine cling more tightly to his boyfriend.

"See you tomorrow at school." Kurt was rubbing Blaine's back, not letting go yet.

"Don't remind me," Blaine said with a little chuckle.

"As I hear from Finn you guys prepared a number for lunch time," Kurt said. "Can't wait to see what you've got up your sleeves."

Blaine drew back a little to grin at his boyfriend. "You'll either be stoked or horrified. Just so you know it was all Finn's idea."

"Now I'm intrigued." Kurt pursed his lips. "Can't you give me a hint?"

Blaine bit his lips to stop himself from grinning. "All I say is Braveheart."

"Braveheart?" Kurt gave him a quizzical look. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Blaine shrugged apologetically. "Sorry but that's all I'm gonna say."

"Alright, I'll have to poke Finn about it then."

"You do that," Blaine said and leaned back in to reestablish their hug.

"Drive safe," Kurt whispered into his hair. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Blaine whispered back hoarsely.

"Call me when you're home."

"I will," Blaine murmured and finally let go of Kurt. Although it was so, so hard to do.

* * *

><p><strong>Just to let you all know I've mapped out the rest of the story already. There'll only be about five or six more chapters. That is if I don't get hit with sudden unexpected ideas just like <em>this<em> chapter that totally came out of nowhere. I just wanted some more of Tiffy the cat in this story and it practically wrote itself.**

**Here's a little reminder for what's next to come:**

_**Blaine has to deal with a furious Rachel Berry.**_

_**Rick the Stick gets into trouble.**_

_**Blaine and the ND boys give a very special impromptu performance and end up in Principal Figgins office.**_

_**Blaine has an appointment with Mrs Pillsbury to talk about his future. **_

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><p><strong>A big hug to my best girl <em>normallyweirdm, <em>thanks for helping me out once again by proof-reading this chapter. :)**

**Thanks everyone for reading and sticking with me! Love you all so much! **

**DiDi :***

_**03.11.2012**_


	23. New York Calling

**New York Calling**

"BLAINE ANDERSON!"

Blaine just arrived at his locker on Monday morning when a furious voice called out for him. He turned around to see Rachel Berry stomping down the hallway towards him.

"We need to talk!" She put her hands on her hips and stopped short in front of him.

Blaine held up a flyer nonchalantly. "Want an invitation for the boys performance in the assembly hall today?"

"Oh for God's sake!" Rachel rolled her eyes. "I already got plenty of those stupid flyers from Finn and Artie and Rory! They shove them up in everyone's faces!"

"Oh, okay," Blaine put the flyer back on the stack in his hand.

"_New Direction goes Braveheart_!" Rachel recited the top line of the flyer. "What does it even mean? Who came up with that sort of nonsense?"

"Your boyfriend," Blaine replied with a shrug.

Rachel seemed to consider this for a second, her lips pursed and the frown on her face deepening. "Anyway!" she held up her hand, dismissing the last part of their conversation. "Don't distract from the topic at hand."

"Which is?" Blaine asked, still clueless.

"You! Ruining! My! Life!" Rachel said dramatically, her eyes on fire.

"What?" Blaine asked with a chuckle.

"It's your fault that Kurt doesn't want to go to New York anymore!" Rachel accused him, poking her finger into his chest. "I can't go there without him! I _need_ him!"

"Kurt's still going to New York," Blaine said weakly. "Just a year later."

"A year later!" Rachel threw her hands in the air. "Do you know how essential one year can be in show business? You're his boyfriend! You should be supportive and help him chase his dreams! Instead you're talking Kurt into feeling guilty up to the point that he decides to stay and throw his dreams away!"

Rachel's voice rose an octave with every word she yelled at him.

"I didn't..." Blaine started but in a way Rachel was right. If he hadn't been such a crybaby lately Kurt probably wouldn't have felt like he needed to stay.

"Oh, I know what you did!" Rachel went over him. "You threw a fit and tore his NYAYA letter into pieces! I saw it!"

"Look, he doesn't give up on his dreams," Blaine explained. "He just delays them because we wanna go to New York together."

"How can you be so selfish to claim him for yourself?" Rachel shook her head with her long hair flying around her. "I _need_ Kurt to come with me to New York right after we graduate! I can't wait for him to join me a year later!"

Rachel pinned her fists into her sides and blew a strand of hair out of her eyes. "It's not fair!"

"Not fair?" Blaine repeated in a dangerously low voice and shut his locker door. "Not fair? You wanna know what's _not_ _fair_, Rachel?"

She just stared at him, her eyes wide and shocked about his sudden change of tone, the way he was sounding extremely pissed off.

"It's not fair that I'm stuck here as a junior because of bullies in my past who probably don't even remember what they did to me and sure as hell don't waste a second to regret what they did. It's not fair that I on the other hand just _can't_ stop thinking about it. Every fucking day I'm regretting that I went to a stupid dance and ended up in hospital for almost half a year."

Blaine leaned his back against his locker, holding his satchel with both hands in front of him.

"I'm used to be alone, Rachel. I feel like I've been alone all my life. Wherever I was I always felt out of place, even at Dalton, most of all at home because my parents..." Blaine shook his head sadly. "Forget my parents. It's only when I'm with Kurt that I finally know what _home_ is, what it feels like to belong to somebody. It's not fair that I have to let him go and be without him for a year."

"But you'll always belong to each other," Rachel said meekly, folding her arms awkwardly in front of her chest. "Even from a distance."

"I'm not keeping him," Blaine said, his eyes bright with unshed tears. "I don't want him to go but I'm not making him stay. Because you're right, Rachel. This is not about what I want or what I need. This is about Kurt's future and I want him to have everything. I want him to fulfill his dreams."

He shook his head slowly. "I can't let those bullies in my past get to win all over again. They made me stay behind and now they make Kurt stay behind. _That's_ not fair and I can't let that happen."

Rachel nodded her approval. "Right. I agree. New York's calling for Kurt and he has to go. So the only problem at hand is convincing Kurt to go."

Blaine sighed at this. Kurt had made up his mind about staying. How could he make Kurt see that it was okay for him to go?

The truth was that Blaine felt way better ever since he'd talked to Kurt on Saturday. He felt like waking up from a bad dream and realizing that nothing bad had happened and he was okay after all. All his worries had been over nothing and he felt ashamed that he'd ever doubted Kurt's love.

Once he came back to his senses Blaine felt that he'd made a mistake. He'd been clinging onto Kurt so badly that he made Kurt believe that a distant relationship wouldn't work out for them. However, now more than ever Blaine believed that they'd survive everything together. Even Blaine's mother had been stunned by the news and had asked him several times over the weekend how it came that Kurt stayed.

However, it had been slightly embarrassing when the guys had asked him on Sunday if it was true that Kurt stayed for him. "He's becoming a Lima Loser for you," Puckerman had clasped Blaine's shoulder. "That's gotta be love, man!"

"Look," Rachel tried a softer tone now. "I'm not asking you to tell Kurt to leave. That's not how it works anyway because he's as stubborn as a mule. But the final auditions for NYADA are next week and Kurt refuses to participate! All I want is for you to encourage him to go to the audition and show them how amazing he is. When he gets accepted it'll still be his choice whether he goes or not. But he can't miss the audition!"

Blaine nodded at this. He hadn't known about the final auditions – Kurt hadn't told him – but he agreed that Kurt had to do this.

"...and I know his spirits are crushed right now," Rachel continued, "but that's just the more reason for him to do this…"

"Wait, what do you mean?" Blaine listened up. "Why are his spirits crushed?"

"He hasn't told you?" Rachel sounded surprised. "Oh dear, he takes his oath to confidentiality way too serious. It's about the girls versus boys competish, that's all I can say."

"Is this about his fight with Sugar?"

"Well, yes and no," Rachel pulled a face. "It's complicated."

"But he was so excited about the boys versus girls. He was so happy he could join the girls." Blaine pointed out.

"I know," Rachel said. "And we love to have him, his ideas are just brilliant! We wouldn't be half as good without him."

"Then what's the problem?" Blaine asked.

Rachel scrunched up her face. "I really wish I could tell you but you're from the other team and..."

"RACHEL!"

Blaine and Rachel jumped and turned to see Kurt heading towards them, steaming with anger. He stopped next to them and clasped Rachel's arm.

"Stop bothering my boyfriend!"

"I wasn't..." Rachel started all innocently.

"Did or didn't she accuse you of keeping me in Lima?" Kurt turned to Blaine strictly.

"Well, she did but..."

"I'm telling you stop giving Blaine a hard time about this, Rachel!" Kurt stuck his finger in Rachel's face and Blaine was a little bit scared. He'd never seen Kurt this furious before.

"But Kurt, you need to understand that I _need_ you there with me!" Rachel clung to Kurt's side. "You're my best friend! I can't go to New York without you!"

"Don't make such a big deal out of it!" Kurt shook his head. "You'll be fine, Rachel."

"If you at least auditionned next week..."

"What's the point when I'm not going anyway?"

"The point is," Blaine cut in and put his hands on Kurt's shoulders, "that nothing is written in stone yet. You still have plenty of time to change your mind and I want you to keep all options open."

"But Blaine…" Kurt shook his head, taken aback by Blaine backing up for Rachel.

"No, Kurt you gotta do this. For me! Audition and show them the best of you! If you decide not to go at least you've made an impression and they'll consider taking you when you audition next year again."

Kurt sighed. "It wouldn't hurt, I suppose."

"I'm gonna help you with your audition song," Rachel offered eagerly.

"I'm gonna help you, too," Blaine told his boyfriend. "You can count on me."

Kurt looked at him weirdly for a minute and Blaine felt himself squirming under that scrutinizing stare. "What is it?" he asked self-consciously and smoothed a hand over his hair.

Kurt hoisted his bag up his shoulder and grabbed Blaine's arm.

"Excuse us, Rachel, but I need to talk to Blaine alone."

As Blaine was being dragged away by his boyfriend he threw a glance back over his shoulder at Rachel who mouthed "NEW YORK" to him and gave him thumbs-ups with both hands. Blaine nodded at her that he understood.

"Tina, next empty classroom?" Kurt asked as they passed their friend at her locker.

"Chem lab," Tina answered with a grin and pointed across the hallway.

"Thanks!"

"Wow, she's really up to date with these things," Blaine commented, clearly impressed.

Kurt opened the door to the chemistry lab and slid in with Blaine following. Once inside Kurt positioned himself in front of the closed door, dropped his satchel on the floor and crossed his arms. Blaine turned to him, waiting for his boyfriend to speak.

For a long moment Kurt's expression was hard and Blaine didn't know what he'd done to affront Kurt. He tilted his head and looked up at Kurt from underneath his thick eyelashes. He hated it when Kurt was mad at him and he didn't even know why.

As he held Kurt's gaze Blaine was glad to see his boyfriend melting. Kurt's eyes turned soft and he gave up his straight posture as he slumped back to lean against the door.

"Blaine, if you're planning to do something stupid just to get me on the road to New York..." Kurt started and immediately Blaine stepped closer, putting his hands on Kurt's arms.

"Kurt, I never meant for you to stay on my behalf..."

"I'm just saying if you consider breaking up with me to make me go…"

"No, no, I'd never do that!"

"Good, because no one gets to decide what I choose to do with my life besides me."

"It's just..." Blaine shook his head and stroked his hands up and down Kurt's arms. "It's like the time you were at Dalton. You didn't belong there, you were unhappy. You _needed_ to go back to McKinley. And after you graduate you won't belong to Lima anymore, you'll be unhappy here, even if we're together. You'll have to go to New York and that's okay because," Blaine's voice cracked for a second but he smiled bravely at his boyfriend, "because you have to remember that the two of us, we will always belong to each other, no matter the distance."

With a sigh Kurt wrapped his arms around Blaine's shoulders and leaned in to rest his forehead against Blaine's.

"What's going on, honey? Are you saying this just because Rachel threw a fit?"

"No, it's got nothing to do with Rachel, although I agree with her. It's selfish of me to want to keep you in Lima." Blaine bit down on his lips. "I've been thinking a lot about everything this weekend and I feel much, much better after we talked on Saturday and, yeah, I'm sure that I can handle it, you know, that distant relationship thing I mean."

"No more nightmares about it?"

"Yeah," Blaine assured him. "It's not like we're breaking up. We'll just have to love each other from a distance."

For another moment neither of them said a word, they just listened to each other breathing and Kurt drew a finger down the front of Blaine's chest.

"I love that sweater vest," he murmured and sounded somewhat sad. "You should wear it more often."

"So, are you going to participate the final audition next week?" Blaine asked quietly.

"I will, but it still doesn't change my mind about staying."

"Kurt..."

"Blaine, it's not just about you. I'm doing this for me." Kurt sighed wearily. "Everything changes so fast and I still feel so young and I can't stand thinking about leaving home and my dad and my new family with Carole and Finn. Also, Finn still hasn't decided what to do with his life after he graduates. I feel like _everyone_ still needs me around and I still need everyone, too."

Kurt's blue eyes pleaded him to understand.

"The thing is, I will _definitely_ go to New York and probably spend the rest of my life there. So what if I stay a little longer with my family for now?"

"The longer you stay the more difficult it gets to leave."

"Not if I'm leaving together with you after you graduate. We can start a whole new life together." Kurt clutched Blaine's hands for emphasis.

"As great as that sounds you'll still be losing one year at NYADA," Blaine shrugged. "Rachel has a point here."

"Look, Blaine. I'm not scared about going to New York alone, without you. But to be honest there's one thing I'm scared about," Kurt admitted quietly.

"What is it?" Blaine asked gently, pulling Kurt closer by his waist.

"Going to New York is a big step and living in New York will definitely change a person. I know I'm gonna change somehow, for the better I hope and I _want_ to change, become better, grow up, you know?" Kurt said and Blaine nodded along.

"The thing is that while I live in New York you won't be with me to see the way I'm changing. And when you join me after one year, you will meet a new me. And maybe you won't like the new me. But if we go to New York together and experience everything new together, we can change equally and watch each other grow and we can tell each other which change is good or bad and we can adjust to each other."

Blaine didn't say anything because he didn't trust his voice.

"Also, living there I will meet new people," Kurt continued. "I _want_ to meet new people! But I understand that it would be hard for you to hear about my new friends when we talk on skype or over the phone and then when you finally join me a year later I would have this large circle of friends already. I'd rather want us to meet new people together. I want people to know that we're an icon right from the start. I don't want you to be the mysterious boyfriend whom I talk about to everyone all the time but who isn't there."

Kurt pressed his cheek against Blaine's, whispering, "Do you understand that?"

Blaine nodded once more, fighting down his tears.

"Why is everyone saying I was weak for wanting this? Why is it such a bad thing?" Kurt sighed heavily, not expecting an answer.

"I love you," Kurt murmured, his lips close to Blaine's ear, leaving a kiss just underneath it.

"Love you, too," Blaine croaked and cleared his throat.

Kurt framed Blaine's face with both hands and kissed him.

"There's got to be another way, though," Blaine whispered when their lips parted. "I feel so bad about all of this."

"Don't feel bad about it," Kurt replied. "Sometimes things aren't the way we wish them to be but still, things are pretty good, don't you think?"

Kurt pecked Blaine's lips once more.

"And now we should get to class."

They stayed for another long minute, collecting themselves and smiling at each other.

The instant they got out of the room Becky Jackson appeared from out of nowhere and walked up to them, tucking at Blaine's sleeve.

"Coach Sylvester wants to see you. Now!"

"Me?" Blaine asked astonished. "What did I do?"

"I'll come with you," Kurt said but Becky shoved Kurt away. "No, you can't come! Just the gay one with the triangle eyebrows!"

Blaine raised his eyebrows at that and exchanged a look with his boyfriend who started laughing. "Well, I'm not the one with triangle eyebrows."

Blaine wanted to say something else to that but Becky grabbed his hand and dragged him down the hallway. Blaine gave Kurt a _help_ look over his shoulder before he rounded a corner, wondering where Becky was leading him because Sue Sylvester's office was in the opposite direction.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

Hello everyone! Some of you might have wondered why I hardly update my stories anymore. To tell you the truth each time I get a review I am _scared_ to read it because I expect to be slapped. While most of you guys are really supportive and very generous with your praise (thank you all so much for your encouraging words!) if there's only one flame it drags me down for _days_. I know I shouldn't let haters get to me but I'm only human.

I write fanfiction because I love Klaine and I love writing. But at the moment I'm seriously considering not updating my stories on fanfiction net anymore. I'm not feeling very well in RL and writing is kind of my escape. Please remember, I'm not a professional writer. I'm doing this for fun but at some point this just isn't fun anymore.

So, _Guest Jane_, you telling me that stories like mine explain why Blaine cheated on Kurt is very hurtful.

I AM NOT RYAN MURPHY.

In my stories Blaine will never cheat on Kurt.

Yes, in _Man in the Mirror_ Blaine is feeling lonely and hurt and desperate and he deals with serious abandonment issues and he needs Kurt. Blaine is not perfect. Neither am I.

But Blaine isn't selfish either. He will try to convince Kurt to leave and let him go.

Furthermore, I have some nice idea up my sleeve to solve their problem. I won't let one of the boys make a great sacrifice for the other one, both will get their happy ending in _Man in the Mirror_ (and in _No Regrets_, too, of course).

As for Kurt, I think he has proven in season one already that he loves his family more than he "loves being a star". Leaving Lima might have been his top priority once but I like to think that now that he has Blaine the thought of hanging around for a little while longer isn't too bad. I don't think that Kurt decides to stay for the wrong reasons. He's not afraid that Blaine might find somebody else and he's not scared of going to New York on his own without someone to hold his hand. Also, he's not staying for just "some boy", he's staying for Blaine because he loves him and the reasons he's pointed out in this chapter.

If you don't like the way I write Klaine then stop reading this and go and write your own story and let them act the way you want them to.

I'm really sad that there is so much hate going on on fanfiction net.

I'm not talking about my stories only, but in general. All the wonderful authors on fanfiction net are spending their free time to write and I think they deserve some more respect from those who review. I happen to know a brilliant author who stopped continuing her story because of all the flames she received and that's just plain sad.

Other great authors with amazing stories on this site suffer the same hate and I sincerely hope none of them will give up their stories just because someone flames them. I'd be heartbroken if I didn't get to read the end of some of those great stories.

English is not my first language and words don't come easy to me. Still, I will continue to write my stories because I love writing them but if I keep getting flames I will not post any more updates on here anymore, at least for a while.

If you don't like my stories or the way I portrait Klaine then please just stop reading. Criticism is always welcome but don't write it in an insulting or mean kind of way.

Before you review (any story on fanfiction net) please take a second to think and if you don't have anything nice to say then don't.

**If it wasn't for all those of you who give me so much love I'd not be here anymore! Thank you to all of you for your support and wonderful kind words! :)**

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you for reading!<strong>

**PS. Yes, _LadyPhoenix_, there'll be kilts! ;)**


	24. Wannabe

**Wannabe**

Becky Jackson was clutching Blaine's hand fiercely as if expecting him to bolt and run away. He was hardly keeping up with her as she fought her way through the crowd in the hallways. Students were already filing into the classrooms for first period, everybody was in a rush.

"What does Coach Sylvester want from me?" Blaine asked a little bit out of breath. He'd never really interacted with the Cheerios coach before. He had no clue what she could want from him and make him late for first period just for seeing her.

To his utter surprise Becky led him to the principal's office and to his further bafflement he found the office already crowded.

Principal Figgins was sitting behind his desk, the fingertips of both hands touching, spreading his fingers and watching Blaine enter with a serious expression on his face.

Coach Sylvester was standing to the left side behind Figgins, next to a mobile TV set, her arms crossed, a remote sticking out of the grasp of one hand and a deep frown darkening her features.

Mrs Pillsbury was neatly sitting in the corner of the couch, her hazel eyes wide and her small hands smoothing her skirt over her legs over and over again.

Rick the Stick was occupying one of the chairs in front of the desk, slumped into it more like it, wearing his red hockey shirt and his prominent hair style. He looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here right now which was a feeling that Blaine could relate to.

A man, presumably Rick's father judging from the same kind of hair-do, was sitting up straight on the couch close to his kid, looking eager to learn the reason for this gathering.

But the presence that shocked Blaine the most was the one of his own father who was standing to the left, running his hand over his chin and meeting his son's eyes from over the rim of his glasses. Howard Anderson looked very annoyed. Blaine knew that his father didn't like having to deal with Blaine's stuff, usually it was his mother who took care of school business.

Blaine fought down the sudden urge to turn around and run away. Instead he braced himself for whatever this meeting was all about.

"Am I in trouble?" he asked warily, trying to sound self-confident and unconcerned but the slight tremor in his voice gave him away.

"Don't worry, Racoon Snout, you're not the one in trouble," Sue said with an encouraging smile. "Please, take a seat."

She pointed to the second chair in front of the desk, right next to Rick and Blaine sat down, folding his hands in his lap nervously despite her assurances that he was alright.

"Would somebody care to finally tell me what's all this about?" Rick's father demanded. "I thought the week of suspension was over. Why are we here?"

"Let me show you an interesting video clip first," Sue said and turned on the TV.

"As you can see this is an overview of the McKinley parking lot dated one week ago," Sue commented the video clip on the screen. "Here we have a clear shot of Porcelain's boyfriend's car... and this is as you can undenyably see for yourself Rick the Chick strolling by, glancing from right to left and, look at that, what's he doing now? Leaning down next to another student's car? I'm sure he's just checking the tire profile, ever so caring about the safety of his fellow students, aren't you, Rick? Say, is that an army knife? Let me zoom in. Oh, yes it is."

Blaine shot a sideway's glance at his schoolmate. Rick had gone pale, like he couldn't believe this was happening. It was a safe bet to say that Rick had never been called out on his actions before and Blaine couldn't help but feel a little bit victorious over the situation. But this feeling didn't last long.

Sue froze the tape. Rick had been caught in the act.

And suddenly Blaine got scared. What if Rick got back on him for this?

"Wait up!" Howard Anderson cut in and turned to Blaine, "The tire of your car has been sliced up? Why is this the first I hear about it?"

"Are you out of your mind, Rick?" Mr Nelson yelled at his son. "What did you do that for? You wanna end up in juvie like your cousin Dixon?"

"Everybody please calm down," Principal Figgins said, making a soothing gesture with his hands.

"Good thing that I have my cameras all around the campus," Sue explained proudly. "When I heard about your flat tire I went to take a closer look at the camera surveilling the parking lot."

"How did you hear?" Blaine asked, his voice flat. "Because I haven't told anyone." He wanted Rick to know that he hadn't rat on him. After watching the film Blaine felt sick in the pit of his stomach.

"I got a call by a certain mechanic who told me that he had to help a student getting his tire replaced," Principal Figgins explained with a nod. "He told me I should keep my eyes open for any kind of bullying. So I went to Sue and..."

"...and we checked my recordings and voilà, there he was, the delinquent _in flagrante delicto_," Sue ended with a satisfied grin.

"Why did you do that, Rick?" his father demanded angrily.

"Because he deserved it!"

"Why did he deserve this?" Sue asked.

"Because he's a homo," Rick exclaimed in his defense. "He and his boyfriend were kissing in the hallway! In front of me! They were provoking me." He tried to make them understand his motivation but he sounded weak.

"So you respond by getting your knife out and attacking his car?" Sue asked. "A couple of weeks back I saw you staring at Santana and Brittany kissing and I remember you were cheering them on."

"That's different," Rick squealed.

"By all means how is it justified to cut up someone's tire just because you saw them kissing?" Mrs Pillsbury interjected.

"I won't tolerate my son being bullied at this school," Mr Anderson spoke up. "I only agreed to let him transfer because you said this school was safe." He pointed an accusing finger at Principal Figgins. This was news to Blaine, he didn't know that his father had spoken to the principal about his safety.

"I assure you that we don't tolerate any kind of bullying at this school." Principal Figgins said. "In this severe case the schoolboard will have to decide whether Rick Nelson will be expelled or not. For now I speak out detention. You'll stay after class and help the detergents to clean the floors."

"Of course we're pressing charges," Blaine's father declared. "This will cost you!"

"No, no, please don't," Rick's father pleaded. "I'll have my son pay you back all costs for the new tire and some extra for the inconvenience. Just don't get the police involved."

"Inconvenience?" Howard Anderson said with a short laugh. "You can tell the judge about your son causing a little bit of inconvenience."

"Look, I'm sorry," Rick suddenly spoke up. "I didn't mean to cause any trouble."

Sue snorted at this. "Of course you meant to cause trouble. No one cuts up a tire without meaning to. Or are you gonna tell us now that your knife slipped and fell into Blaine's tire by mistake?"

Blaine watched Rick from out of the corner of his eye. Rick squirmed in his chair. He didn't say another word in his defense, knowing that it was useless. He'd fucked up. He got caught and now he had to face consequences.

Rick looked up and their eyes met for a brief moment before Blaine averted his eyes.

There was something in Rick's eyes telling him that this wasn't done and over with.

"Blaine?" When the meeting was over Mrs Pillsbury caught his arm on his way out of the door. "Could you please stop by my office after school today? There's something I want to talk to you about."

"Sure," Blaine said, instantly getting worried. "Am I in trouble now?"

"No, no, not at all," Mrs Pillsbury hurried to assure him. "It's just that Kurt was in my office last Friday," Mrs Pillsbury explained. "We talked about his future plans and so of course we talked about you as well. If you don't mind stopping by my office later I'd like to discuss an idea with you."

"Sure," Blaine said again, wondering what this was about. Mrs Pillsbury gave him a warm smile and squeezed his arm once before she let go.

* * *

><p>"Thanks for coming, Dad." Blaine pulled his bag farther up his shoulder as he walked with his father down the hall. "See you at home then."<p>

Howard Anderson hesitated. He stopped in the hallway and turned to look at his son, his hand running along his chin. "Actually, I won't be home tonight."

"Why not?" Blaine asked, suddenly uneasy.

"I'm heading back to Chicago today."

"What? Why? You just spend the weekend there for that meeting or whatever."

"I have business to attend to, Blaine. I don't have to explain to you what I'm doing and where I'm going."

"Alright," Blaine said, raising his hands. "Of course not. It's just that I hardly get to see you, is all." With a sigh Blaine let his hands fall to his sides. He had a feeling that his father was acting strange.

Howard rubbed his neck and stayed put, like he wanted to say something else.

"Look, you're almost eighteen, Blaine," he finally said. "You don't need a father figure anymore. I know I haven't been much of a good father to you anyway. You'll be fine."

"What do you mean by that?" Blaine was completely confused now.

"I'm just saying," Howard said, tapping his chin. "Maybe it's best if I wasn't around too much."

"I never said I didn't want you around," Blaine objected. "Did Mom say something like that?" For an awful moment Blaine was afraid that his mother had spilled that he had told her about how he hated the two of them fighting. He didn't mean to make it sound like he wanted them to part. He just wanted his parents to get along better and maybe show some more love and respect for one another. After all he believed that love and respect was the foundation of a good relationship.

Howard shook his head. "I really think it's best you talk to your mother tonight."

"Why? What's she gonna tell me that you can't tell me now?" Blaine retorted, getting angry about his father's evasive answers.

"I have to go," Howard said, making an act of looking at his watch. "I've got a meeting."

"You know what?" Blaine called after him as his father already turned to leave. "You're a coward, Dad."

Howard turned to face him again, his eyebrows raised inquiringly.

"And don't act like you suddenly care about my well-being," Blaine went right on, with an angry edge in his voice. "Oh, yes, you acted all upset in there about my car tire being sliced up and about me not telling you about it. But when I told you the other day that I was being emotionally and sexually harassed by Sebastian Smythe you didn't seem to care at all. So what's the point of me telling you anything?"

"Blaine," his father said in a condescending tone. "You cannot measure emotional trauma but the worth of a tire is easy to come by." Howard explained this so casually that Blaine was left speechless.

His father stepped closer and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Just so you know, I'll ring up Simon Smythe and let him know he should get a better handle on his son or else I'd have to reconsider our working arrangements. You let me know if that kid bothers you again, alright?"

Blaine didn't answer. His throat suddenly felt like it was constricting.

"I understand that you didn't tell me about the bullying at this poor excuse of a school because you didn't want me to send you back to Dalton," Howard continued. "You should know that I just donated a respectable sum to the principal so he's able to renew the school's safety equipment. Of course that's no guarantee that there won't be any more bullies around but that's just how the world is. There is no 100 per cent protection anywhere."

"I know that," Blaine said, weakly.

His father gave him a nod and a reassuring smile before he left. Blaine watched his father walk down the hall and felt weirdly abandoned to see him go. Like this was a goodbye.

Shaking his head he started towards the classroom he was supposed to be.

* * *

><p>Blaine sat all through math with his eyes glued to the clock on the wall and his foot repeatedly tapping against the leg of the table.<p>

He needed to see Kurt. Twenty more minutes until the first break. Might as well be an eternity.

Blaine knew he should feel relieved and thankful that the system was working and a bully finally got put on the spot and punished. But he couldn't help being worried about Rick's wrath. What if Rick decided to get revenge? What if he went after Blaine? Or worse, what if he went after Kurt?

He knew he wouldn't walk out alone in the dark for the next couple of weeks and he would make sure Kurt wouldn't either.

Stop these thoughts, he told himself but it was no use. He couldn't stop worrying. The thing with bullies was that you never knew what was going on in their heads. You had to be prepared for anything.

Blaine rapidly tapped on his paper with his pencil.

Rick might be embarrassed and would be keeping his head low for the next few weeks. But he would also find a way to let his anger out on Blaine again. His father seemed to be shocked but you never knew what he'd say at home. Perhaps he would tell his son, well done, those homos deserve it but next time be sure you don't get caught.

Blaine's hand was shaking so hard that he lost his pencil and it flew over the table and hit Brittany in the back.

The girl turned around and looked at him questioningly. Blaine mouthed sorry to her. She leaned down, picked the pencil up and gave it back to him with a smile.

"Thanks," he murmured and continued to twirl the pencil between his fingers.

He knew he should be all heads up and proud and tell Rick and his friends to fuck off. But he still was too scared of the consequences.

Actually, he felt like a joke. Like a fraud. Not too long ago he'd been preaching courage to Kurt and told him to stand his ground. It had been easy saying that while sitting with his butt in a comfy armchair in his refuge that had been Dalton. But what good did it do for Kurt? He had talked back to his offender and got molested by him.

Blaine fiddled nervously with his pencil and kept staring at the clock on the wall, willing time to move faster so he could finally talk to Kurt.

He had wanted to be a good mentor and thought his advice was legit: don't be the victim, don't be chicken, fight back. But he had put Kurt on the spot, he had put him in danger.

For the first time Blaine understood, _really_ understood how Kurt had been feeling concerning Karofsky's threat. It was one thing to have some homophobic jerk to bully you or even hit you. But sexual harrassment was so different. What it felt like to be scared that someone oversteped boundaries. Thinking that if Karofsky ever got him alone, something worse might happen than just a kiss. Blaine had only began to understand the extent of it when Sebastian had started to get handsy.

For the second time he lost grip of his pencil and again it hit Brittany and got stuck in her pigtail. She pulled it out, looked at it with an odd expression and then turned around, offering it to him. "Blaine, are you interested in me?"

"What?" Blaine blinked in confusion.

"Because usually when guys are interested in me they throw things at me like gum wrappers or little notes or rubbers," Brittany explained with a shrug.

Blaine shook his head. "No, I'm not interested in you..."

"Good, because although I made out with Kurt I wouldn't make out with you. No offense. I think you're cute and all but Kurt's very possessive when it comes to you."

With an apologetic shrug she turned her attention back to the teacher.

Blaine drifted off to thinking about what his father had said, wondering if he really would talk to Simon Smythe and how Sebastian would react if he got told by his father that he should leave him alone. Somehow he doubted that Sebastian would behave just because his father told him to.

Blaine shook his head, trying to get these thoughts out but he couldn't stop thinking of what Sebastian had said to him the other day, that he'd get him sooner or later. It was just words, Blaine told himself over and over again. Just some stupid words. Why did they bother him so much? Sebastian wouldn't really hurt him, he was just angry at being rejected. Yeah, that's it. He had rejections issues. Didn't mean he would get violent and ravish him when he got him alone.

When I get you alone...

God, what a stupid song choice he'd made once. Jeremiah must have thought he'd lost his mind singing something offensive like this to him. If Sebastian started singing this song to him he'd be scared shitless. This wasn't a love song, this was a fucking threat.

His pencil flew out of his fingers again and hit Brittany's back for the third time.

"Gosh, I'm so, so incredible sorry, Brittany!"

With an exasperated sigh she bend down and picked it up, then she frowned at him. "Look, Blaine, Lord Tubbington likes to play with pencils. I'm not Lord Tubbington. Please stop throwing pencils at me."

"It won't happen again," Blaine assured her and stuffed his pencil away into his bag, wondering who on earth Lord Tubbington was.

* * *

><p>The moment the bell rang, everyone leaped up and started talking. Books were closed, backpacks zipped up, the sounds of voices and shuffling in the hallway coming in through the open door. Blaine shut his notebook and stood up. He was one of the first to walk out into the hallway, past the lockers and towards the classroom where Kurt would be.<p>

Blaine stopped in the doorway and caught a glimpse of Kurt who was inside, talking to Tina who was packing books into her backpack.

"I told you it won't be easy to impress Harmony," Kurt was just saying. "Santana gets to do her beloved Amy, but I agree with Rachel that we need to add a Broadway number."

"The competition is only a few days away," Tina replied with a sigh. "How are we supposed to change everything in a few days?"

"If we want Harmony and the _Unitards_ to vote for us, we need to! She's so in love with her own talent she hardly sees anyone else's. We need to do something stunning to impress her."

Blaine raised a brow in surprise. He had thought the girls were already set but it seemed they still had trouble putting up a show.

"Do you know anything about the performance the boys are doing today?" Tina asked now. "They worked the whole weekend on it. I only saw Mike for an hour on Saturday night and he was all giddy about it, throwing hints at me but I didn't get it."

"I don't have a clue either. I only hope they don't make fools of themselves."

"Let them!" Tina laughed. "I don't mind Mike crawling back to me for comfort after the whole school laughed at them."

"That's not very supportive," Kurt tsked.

"I think it is," Tina countered. "I'll still love him even if he makes a fool of himself. And you would love to offer Blaine some consolation prize as well, wouldn't you? Just imagine him coming to you with his adorable puppy eyes."

"I could never resist his puppy eyes," Kurt admitted with a heartfelt sigh. "Sometimes I feel like he's doing them on purpose just to make me weak."

"You mean when you're supposed to study together but he asks you for a blowjob instead?" Tina was giggling.

"He doesn't need to do his puppy eyes for that," Kurt chuckled. "I'm all over him before he even opens his textbooks."

Blaine flushed at hearing this. It was true. When they were home alone Kurt was anything but shy. Still, Blaine had never imagined that Kurt would talk about it so casually with the girls.

"By the way, can you explain me your technique again?" Tina asked, batting her long hair over one shoulder. "Mike complained about too much teeth the last time I gave him head."

This was the point Blaine chose to clear his throat, loudly. His ears were glowing already from the casual sex talk Kurt and Tina had going on.

Kurt whipped around and a smile lit up his face. "Hey cutie," Kurt cooed and came over to him. "How long have you been eavesdropping on us?"

"Long enough to know that you're doing Amy Winehouse for the competish," Blaine said with a grin, trying to get the image of Tina going down on Mike out of his head. "And that my lost puppy eyes make you weak."

Kurt smiled sheepishly. "I bet you knew both of that already. The girls and me are very predictable, aren't we?"

Tina hoisted her bag up her shoulder and joined them.

"Yeah, the boys know all our weak points," Tina grinned. "That's why they're able to wrap us around their little fingers so easily."

Blaine tilted his head in thought. He didn't agree with Tina, actually, he was pretty sure that the guys were pretty much lost in the enigma that was the girls. Blaine himself was astonished by Kurt's awesomeness day by day anew. Kurt was a mystery to him but at the same time he felt like he knew him inside out. It was puzzling but in a good way.

"Now, spill it!" Tina inquired. "What are you guys up to today?"

Blaine gave her a shrug. "You'll have to wait and see."

Tina rolled her eyes. "Alright, see you guys then at the mysterious _Braveheart_ gig. Later!"

She left with a wave of her hand.

"I'm not sure what to think of you and Tina talking about blowjobs," Blaine said amused, keeping his voice low as they walked out into the hallway.

"Oh, come on, I don't want to know what you guys talk about when you're meeting up. I bet the size of the girls boobs is a popular topic."

"Well, I'm not telling them about the size of your dick if that's what you worry about," Blaine replied, grinning. "And that's only because I don't want to be a bragger."

"Ever the gentleman," Kurt said with a smile and batted his arm playfully.

"Which reminds me that I still wanted to tell you," Blaine lowered his voice even more and added a little growl, "that last Saturday up in the woods in your car was just _amazing_!"

"My pleasure," Kurt replied airily with a grin tucking up his lips.

They walked down the hallway to Kurt's locker, their arms touching and rubbing against one another. Blaine's hand was aching to take Kurt's but he didn't dare to give in and actually do it.

"So what did Coach Sylvester want from you?"

Blaine's smile blinked out like a lightbulb, remembering the anxiety he'd felt earlier today in the principal's office. "You won't believe it."

"Well, most of what Coach Sylvester's up to is rather unbelieveable," Kurt chuckled. "Just try me."

"Hear this. She has Rick Nelson on film cutting up my tire!"

"Oh, my God, so it really was him!" Kurt exclaimed, stopping at his locker and leaning his shoulder against it. "Not that I had a doubt but it's great that he got caught!"

"Yeah, he just got crushed by Sue and Principal Figgins! He even might be expelled for it. Plus, my dad wants to sue the shit out of him."

"That's fantastic! He so deserves it!"

"I just hope," Blaine started and let out a sigh, "that he's not out for revenge."

"He better watch out that _we're_ not out for revenge. I sure do have a few things to say to him!" Kurt grumbled and turned to open his locker.

"I'm just worried that he might try to hurt us," Blaine explained his worries.

"Let him try!" Kurt replied, sounding so strong and confident that for a second all of Blaine's fears were gone, just like that. How could Kurt sound so sure? Blaine admired him for that.

"If he tries to pull some crap on us we'll show him that he better not mess with a couple of queers," Kurt said, winking at Blaine. "Also, we always have Finn and the boys to help us out."

Blaine nodded and watched Kurt rummaging in his locker and getting some books out.

"By the way, do you know what Mrs Pillsbury wants to talk to me about?"

"She does?" Kurt asked, his eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, she told me that she'd talked to you on Friday and now she wants to see me after class."

"I didn't tell her to talk to you, I swear! Cross my heart and kiss my elbow!"

"That's not what I was thinking," Blaine replied with a smile. "I was just wondering what she wants from me. What did you talk to her about? If I may ask."

"I just talked to her about my NYADA letter," Kurt said, shutting his locker door, "and the future."

Blaine nodded at this, not asking Kurt to elaborate.

"I don't know what her deal is with you, though," Kurt ducked his head. "It could be about bullying, perhaps. I told her a little bit about your past and about how Rick Nelson's acting right now and... I'm sorry, I should have kept my mouth shut."

"No, it's okay."

"I told her about the Sadie Hawkins Dance and that it's the reason you're still a junior and I'm sorry," Kurt told him, his voice all emotional all of a sudden. "It just all came out before I knew what I was saying... I didn't mean to blurt out your personal history, I just... once I started I couldn't stop and I..."

"Baby, it's okay. She's a counselor, she's bound to confidentality, so I don't care." Blaine tried his best to sound unaffected. He wasn't mad at Kurt for talking to Mrs Pillsbury about him.

"Last Friday must have been a hell of a day for you," Blaine murmured empathetically, thinking about how he'd ruined their Friday night together.

"I won't mark it in my calender as one of my favorites, that's for sure," Kurt replied with a chuckle.

"Did you tell Mrs Pillsbury that you want to go to NYADA but I'm holding you back?" he asked wistfully.

Kurt shook his head with a sigh. "I want a lot of things, Blaine, and..."

"KURTIE!"

Sugar and Brittany came running and bouncing down the hallway towards them.

Kurt immediately stiffened and prepared for the impact. Sugar threw herself at him and hugged him, squealing in joy. "I love my dress, thank you so much, Kurtie, you're the bestest dressmaker ever!"

Sugar placed a big kiss on his cheek which Kurt accepted with a scrunched up face.

"I just added some accessories," Kurt replied humbly. "And the pink ribbon."

"I love love _love_ it!" Sugar clapped her hands happily.

"Can I have a pink ribbon on my dress, too?" Brittany asked, resting her head on Kurt's shoulder and looking up at him. "Pretty please?"

Blaine knew that Kurt had met with Mercedes, Quinn and Tina on Sunday to work on the girl's costumes together. He was surprised to see Kurt so friendly with Sugar, however.

"I thought you guys were fighting?" Blaine said confused.

"We just had some differences about the choreography." Kurt gave a one-sided shrug. "Everybody has to accept their place."

"I still think doing _Spice Girls_ would be a great idea," Sugar said with a girly pout.

"And I told you that I _love_ the Spice Girls," Kurt said with an exasperated sigh. "But we have to focus on impressing Harmony and I doubt we can do that by singing a Spice Girls song no matter how much we'd love to."

"I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want," Sugar started singing loudly and Brittany joined in immediately, "So tell me what you want, what you really, really want!"

"I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna really, really, really wanna zigazig ah!"

The two girls started dancing in the middle of the hallway what Blaine recognized as the famous Spice Girls moves.

"If you want my future, forget about my past

If you wanna get with me, better make it fast"

Sugar belted out the lines with more enthusiasm than actual talent but it didn't matter that she didn't hit the right notes, she had fun. Watching the girls dancing and singing and goofing around was amazing and the joy was contagious. Blaine was grinning from ear to ear.

Brittany grabbed Kurt's hand and to Blaine's absolute bafflement Kurt began to sing, too.

"Now don't go wasting my precious time

Get your act together we could be just fine"

All three of them started shaking their butts and let their hands run down over their fronts all sexy. Now Kurt waggled his finger at Blaine and kept singing,

"If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends

Make it last forever, friendship never ends

If you wanna be my lover, you have got to give

Taking is too easy, but that's the way it is"

Brittany did some impressive dance moves, skitting over the floor and shouting, "Yo! I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want!"

Kurt and Sugar cheered her on, "So tell me what you want, what you really, really want! I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna really, really, really wanna _zigazig ah!"_

Blaine wasn't the only one staring at them in amazement, some guys let out wolf-whistles, some of Brittany's cheerleader mates called out, "Go, Brittany, go!"

When they ended and posed all Spice Girls-like the students around them clapped.

"Ah, I just love you, my fabulous spice girls," Kurt said, a little bit breathless and flipping his hair back. Brittany and Sugar both hugged him again.

Blaine watched Kurt with the girls. He was so at ease with them. It had been a good choice coming to McKinley. Here Kurt could join in the girl craziness that was Britt and Sugar and it was adorable. Blaine was pretty sure he would never gotten the pleasure to see Kurt doing an impromptu Spice Girls performance back at Dalton.

"Hey Blaine," Brittany addressed him with a sweet smile. "You should totally come to my place for a _Fondue For Two _and tell Lord Tubbington all about how you went berserk at Rick the Stick the other day."

With a bright smile Brittany turned to Kurt, "Lord Tubbington just loves heroic adventure stories! He also likes to play with pencils."

She tilted her head and winked at Blaine. "You can throw as many pencils as you want."

With a little wave of her fingers she left, taking Sugar with her.

Blaine looked at Kurt, confused. "Do you know who this Lord Tubbington guy is?"

"Don't worry, you'll like him," Kurt replied with a laugh and linked arms with Blaine, walking to class with him. "What was that pencil remark about?"

"I don't have a clue," Blaine said with a laugh and made a dismissive gesture. "She's crazy!"

"If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends," Kurt sung a line of the song, making Blaine smile.

"I like your friends," Blaine said. "I may not always understand them but I like them."

"You know, there's so much I wanna do in my life," Kurt told him. "I wanna sing on Broadway, I wanna be a star and I wanna be admired. But most of all I want to love and be loved."

With a quick look around Kurt opened the door to the school's broom closet and shoved Blaine inside. Blaine didn't object when he felt Kurt's mouth on his a second later. This was what he changed schools for after all. To be with Kurt every free minute and if there was time for a kiss in between classes he'd happily take it.

"When we're in New York I want to meet other gay people and be friends with them," Kurt breathed. "I wanna hear about what life is like in New York and feel like home there. But that doesn't mean that I'm looking for someone else. I don't want a new and exciting boyfriend. Blaine, you know all about my past, you know who I've been and what I went through to become the person I am today. Still you love me with all my faults and quirks. That's why your love means so much to me. I don't want some fabulous all-knowing big city guy, I want my sweet dapper Ohio-Blaine with me who knows where I come from and who helped me along my way. He's the only guy I ever wanna be with."

"I know, baby." Blaine smiled at him. "You don't have to make such wonderful love declarations to me all the time. Makes me feel like I should come up with some amazing speech as well."

"Then why don't you?" Kurt teased him.

"Alright, I will," Blaine promised with a grin. "But for now you'll have to be content with me telling you that I really, really, really wanna _zigazig ahhhh_ with you."

"That's not bad for starters," Kurt chuckled.

Blaine closed his arms around Kurt's waist and drew him near. "Now, tell me all about your technique again because I don't want my lover to complain about too much teeth."

Kurt flapped his arm with a laugh. "Have you ever heard me complain? You're a natural."

"Glad to hear it," Blaine gave him a wry smile. "Still, I think we should practice."

"I thought we were," Kurt murmured against his mouth and softly nibbled at Blaine's bottom lip. "But let's delay any love making until we're home alone. I don't wanna be caught by the janitor in here sucking on any other parts of you than your lips."

Blaine chuckled at this. He let his hands feel all the way from Kurt's shoulder blades down the curve of his spine to rest on his boyfriend's beautiful firm buttocks.

"I really like the way you make me feel," he said with a content sigh.

"Horny?" Kurt took a guess.

"I meant to say _peaceful,"_ Blaine giggled. "But alright, horny's always accurate, too."

"Peaceful, huh?" Kurt snuggled closer. "Like, _make love not war_ kind of peaceful?"

"More like, I don't care what kind of shit's going on around me as long as I got you by my side."

"Very nicely put," Kurt purred and placed a kiss on Blaine's neck.

For a long moment all Blaine was capable of doing was tilting his head back and enjoying his boyfriend's tongue licking its way along the curve of his jaw.

"Shouldn't we get to class?" Blaine still managed to say while a shiver of pleasure went through his body.

"Let's be late," Kurt murmured and hugged him tight.

"You're a bad influence," Blaine breathed back and held him closer.

"Thank you," Kurt replied with a chuckle and drew back to look at him. They stared at each other meaningful for a long moment, drowning in one another's eyes.

Blaine's heart was beating so hard in his chest he was sure anybody outside could hear it thump down the hallway.

"Tell me what you want," Blaine whispered, "what you really, _really_ want."

Kurt's answer was a smile and a kiss, softly capturing Blaine's mouth with his own.

* * *

><p><strong>A happy ending in this chapter, just for you, Emmy! :) Love you, sweetie!<strong>

**Songs in this chapter:**

**Spice Girls – Wannabe**

* * *

><p><strong>Next up the boy's Braveheart performance, finally! Also Blaine will talk to Mrs Pillsbury! <strong>

**Thank you _SilverWhiteDragon_ for the idea of Sue Sylvester having a camera on the parking lot! :)**

**Thank you to everyone for your favorites, follows and reviews! I appreciate your feedback so much! :D**


	25. A Little Respect

**Hello everyone! Sorry for the delay on this story! And a Happy New Year (I know I'm late)! **

**WARNING: This chapter is going to be fun! It might stir up laughter, so please read on your own risk! ;)**

**A very special THANK-YOU to **_**WaitingForThisMomentToBeFree **_** for helping me with his chapter. Thanks for listening to my problems and insecurities!**

* * *

><p><strong>A Little Respect<strong>

"Looking really good everyone! Let's take a group picture!" Finn suggested enthusiastically and held up a camera. "We gotta hold this moment forever!"

"I'd rather not," Artie objected. "I'll already have a hard time to ever forget having Puck and Sam help me change into this outfit. I don't need a visual reminder."

"Dude, that's the gayest thing I ever did," Puck told proudly. "Helping another dude getting his pants off and change into a skirt."

"Could we please not call it a _skirt_?" Artie objected again.

"Right, it's called a kilt," Rory explained. "It's traditionally worn on special occasions mainly in Scotland."

"Your hometown?" Sam asked.

"No, I'm from Ireland," Rory answered irritated. "And Scotland is a country, not a town."

"Come on! Get closer together, everyone!" Finn motioned for them to gather for a group picture and set the timer on his camera before hurrying over to stand next to Puckerman. They all grinned and called "Cheese!" and waited for the flash.

Blaine couldn't help but feeling overly excited about this performance. He'd never thought he'd be standing amidst a group of uniform-clad boys again, except they weren't wearing blazers and ties, but red-green sheckered kilts and black shirts.

He tried to imagine the Warblers doing a group number in kilts, but he knew that his Dalton friends would never do something like that. They were much too traditional to ever let go of their grey pants and blue blazers. Blaine was pretty sure that they would never step out of their comfort zone like this, not even for Kurt. That's why he was extra proud of Finn to come up with this idea.

"Hey, man, what did I say about the tees?!"

Blaine was pulled out of his thoughts by Finn pointing at Puckerman who sported a black T-shirt with a white skull and crossbones on the front.

"I thought we agreed on plain black tees and black Chucks!" Finn continued to complain about the look of his best friend who also wore glaring red Chucks.

"What? I'm expressing my individuality! Just like he does!" Puck pointed to the Irish boy standing next to him.

Now all eyes were on Rory.

"Dude! Where did you rent _that_ kilt?" Finn said, clearly impressed.

"Yeah, it looks very authentic," Artie observed.

Rory instantly felt uncomfortable at being the center of attention all of a sudden. "I brought this kilt from home. My dad, my brothers and me wear those to special occasions, like on the St. Patrick's Day parade."

He brushed his hands over the accessories that were emblazed on his kilt. He wore a short sleeved black polo shirt and a green bow-tie that made him stick out from the rest of the bunch. Also Rory was the only one wearing knee-high stockings and leather shoes, looking very festive.

"You look really good," Blaine said admiringly. Rory beamed and muttered a shy, "Thanks".

"Stop hitting on the boy," Sam moved between Blaine and Rory and nudged Blaine's side playfully. "You already got a boyfriend."

"You think I...? I wasn't!" Blaine stuttered while Rory blushed under the armpit of Sam's arm draped firmly around his neck.

"You can't wear that skull shirt," Finn said again to Puck.

"Why not?" Puck protested and smoothed one hand over his chest. "I'm a badass Braveheart."

Blaine couldn't help but grin like an idiot at the sight of the ND boys in kilts. He gave them high credit for this, walking around in kilts, but especially Finn for coming up with the idea in the first place and talking the guys into doing this. They had turned it into a _what girls can do we can do better_ sort of thing, but it still was brave to walk around like this in an American high school on a regular school day.

Blaine was rubbing his hands in anticipation. "I so can't wait for Kurt's reaction when he sees us!"

"Tina will freak out seeing me like this," Mike replied, grinning.

"I just hope it'll soon be over." Artie looked very unhappy and kept smoothing the fabric of his kilt, trying to cover his naked knees. "I feel exposed."

"Stop whining," Puck said gruffly. "We let you keep your underwear."

"Dude," Finn said, eyes wide in shock. "Aren't you wearing underwear?"

"Course not," Puck shot back, looking around puzzled. "Do you?"

Nobody acknowledged him, but everybody shuffled slightly away from him.

"You guys aren't wearing underwear, too, right? Right?"

The boys were laughing, everybody was nervous, but in a good mood. Blaine remembered that time Kurt had worn a kilt to prom. Blaine had been a wreck beforehand, because he had been scared of bullies making mean remarks on Kurt's outfit. This time it was different. This was a group number. They were all in this together.

"I have to say I really like the cool breeze," Puck said, whirling around a bit with his hands on his hips.

"By all means, keep your skirt down!" Finn called out in horror.

"Please, could we not refer to the kilts as _skirts_," Artie pleaded. "I feel naked enough as it is! Say, Rory, do you happen to have an extra pair of those knee socks I could borrow?"

"Sorry," Rory shook his head.

"Guys, we've got nothing to be ashamed of," Finn started another one of his encouraging speeches. "We all work out and have great legs to show off."

"Speaking of," Artie leaned forward, looking at his teammate's legs closely and adjusting his glasses. "Sam, did you shave your legs?"

"Yeah, to match my chest," Sam responded. "Also I don't want to look like a bear like Finn."

"Your chest?" Blaine raised an inquiring eyebrow at his friend.

"Yeah, look, my shirt's torn at the collar," Sam whispered to him with a wink. "I prepared it so it's easier to rip it off of me."

Blaine widened his eyes. "You're gonna strip?"

Sam shrugged. "If I'm in the mood and the crowd's screaming for it I might."

Before Blaine could process this information, Puckerman snuck up and nudged his side, saying in a whisper, "I always thought the whole point of wearing menskirts was wearing nothing underneath them. That's why gays are crazy about kilts, right?"

Blaine looked up to him and pulled a face. "You're really not wearing boxer shorts?"

"Alright, guys! I think we're ready to go all Braveheart on the school!" Finn cheered and the boys cheered along with him.

"Break a leg, everyone," Finn said. "Let's not get this out of control, seeing how most of our assembly performances usually end in some sort of riot."

Blaine quirked his eyebrow at that, but chose not to ask for further details.

Finn took a deep breath. "Here we go!"

Finn's enthusiasm about the whole idea was endearing, but there was a flash of nervousness across his face right before they were about to enter the stage that had Blaine floundering, too.

As they stepped out onstage their appearance stirred up laughter from the benches. But they were confident that their choice of music would win the judgemental audience over since they had agreed to mix their outfits with punk rock music.

Instantly Blaine's eyes were scanning the crowd for his boyfriend.

He was thinking of the conversation he'd had with his boyfriend only fifteen minutes ago. He had reminded Kurt to show up in the assembly hall to see their performance and Kurt had steepled his hands like in prayer. "Please, don't do anything stupid. Just promise me it's not gonna be anything like the GAP attack or the dancing in foam for the Dalton sister school or…"

"Don't worry, just enjoy the show. I gotta go and get changed," Blaine had excused himself.

"Get changed? What for?" Kurt had asked, clearly alarmed.

"You'll see. The boys dress up for you and the girls. But mostly for you. It's been Finn's idea."

Kurt had furrowed his brows in worry. "You realize it doesn't soothe me that you keep telling me that everything's been Finn's idea, right?"

Blaine found Kurt sitting next to Rachel and Tina, one hand raised to cover his mouth in silent horror. All three of them looked shell-shocked at the sight of their boyfriends in kilts. Blaine resisted the urge to wave at them.

Tina was the first to recover. She held her hands at her mouth and hollered, "Woo-Hoo! Sexy legs, Mike! That's my boyfriend!"

Mike bowed towards her and blew her a kiss. Tina giggled and leaned against Kurt, grasping his hand in excitement and now Blaine could see that Kurt was grinning happily, too. Apparently he enjoyed the sight of naked legs. Blaine flashed him a bright smile.

Finn stepped up and addressed the little crowd of fellow students who had gathered in the assembly hall, sitting on the benches and waiting to be entertained.

"Hi everyone, we're the New Directions without the girls, because we're preparing for a girls versus boys show off this Saturday and today we're here to tell them that _whatever they can do, we can do better_. And we're not afraid to wear girl's clothes! Well, kilts aren't exactly girl's clothes, but yeah, we're wearing them anyway. With this I want to salute my brother Kurt – hi Kurt! – who was the first to be brave enough to walk the halls of McKinley in a kilt and today we're following his lead. To make it short, we're the _Bravehearts_, and we're here to rock this school. Hit it!"

Finn hurried behind the drums and Sam and Artie began playing their guitars.

Puckerman was the first to step forward, grabbing the mike and sing,

"Do you have the time to listen to me whine  
>About nothing and everything all at once?"<p>

After the first few words the crowd was already cheering and singing along. You could always depend on _Green_ _Day_ to save the day. The audience loved them right from the start despite the kilts.

"Sometimes I give myself the creeps  
>Sometimes my mind plays tricks on me<br>It all keeps adding up, I think I'm cracking up  
>Am I just paranoid? Am I just stoned?"<p>

Finn changed the beat into a faster drum for a smooth transition to another punk rock song and Mike took over the microphone.

"She's getting kicked out of school 'cause she's failing  
>I'm kind of nervous, cause I think all her friends hate me<br>She's the one, she'll always be there  
>She took my hand and I made it I swear"<p>

When he reached the chorus all the boys joined in, kind of more shouting than singing the lines,

"Because I fell in love with the girl at the rock show  
>She said 'what?' and I told her that I didn't know<br>She's so cool!  
>Everything's better when she's around<br>I fell in love with the girl at the rock show!"

Finn slowed down the beat and for the next part of their mash up Blaine took hold of the microphone. He had fought hard to persuade his teammates to add the _Erasure_ sequence into the mix, since he had to dismiss his beloved Katy Perry already, because the boys wouldn't for the heck of it allow him to sing one of her songs. He didn't have a clue why they were so strict about that, but at least they agreed to do _Erasure_.

So Blaine stepped up front, his eyes searching his boyfriend once more and making eye contact when he sung the high notes of the eighty's tune,

"I'm so in love with you  
>I'll be forever blue<br>What religion or reason  
>Could drive a man to forsake his lover<p>

And if I should falter  
>Would you open your arms out to me<br>We can make love not war  
>And live at peace in our hearts"<p>

The boys were backing him up with "uuhs" and "aahs" and by singing,

"Don't you tell me no  
>Don't you tell me no<br>Don't you tell me no  
>Don't you tell me no"<p>

Blaine couldn't take his eyes off of Kurt and the breath taking smile gracing Kurt's face. Blaine felt encouraged to know that Kurt liked their performance, and he didn't care about their audience anymore, he only sang for Kurt.

"I'm so in love with you  
>I'll be forever blue<p>

Soul, I hear you calling  
>Oh baby please<br>Give a little respect to me"

Finn changed the beat once again, speeding up, and all of the boys roared into their microphones again,

"I fell in love with the girl at the rock show  
>She said 'what?' and I told her that I didn't know<br>She's so cool!  
>Everything's better when she's around<br>I fell in love with the girl at the rock show!"

They ended the mash-up performance with a bang!

Artie and Puckerman hit their electric guitars hard, making as much noise as possible.

Mike did some incredible dance moves, somehow managing to split legs without showing his underwear.

Sam stepped up front and ripped his shirt off, doing his infamous body roll moves and showing off his abs.

Finn gave a final drum roll and the show was over and out.

The crowd was screaming enthusiastically.

Blaine looked around the hall, perplexed by the response, but beaming. He was surfing on a high. The kilts were a success, the rock song mash up was a success, all of the McKinley students loved them.

Blaine searched for Kurt in the crowd again and found him clapping cheerfully, beaming over at him. And suddenly Blaine felt confident and proud. But it was only when Kurt put his fingers to his lips and blew him a kiss that Blaine felt like flying and he knew that he had to get his boyfriend to go to New York.

So he brought the microphone to his lips and stepped forward, even though his fellow rockers already gave their bows and goodbyes.

Blaine wasn't finished yet.

While the crowd was still cheering and calling for an encore Blaine began to sing without music.

"Talk about our future like we had a clue  
>Never planned that one day I'd be losing you"<p>

He felt Sam's and Mike's startled eyes on him and when he looked sideways at Artie the boy gave him a quick shake of his head, telling him, no, don't do this.

But Blaine felt like he just had to do this number, because it was the only song that came close to his feelings for Kurt right now.

Besides, Katy Perry was always right.

So Blaine started belting out the first lines of the song.

"I was June you were my Johnny Cash  
>Never one without the other we made a pact<br>Sometimes when I miss you I put those records on...woe"

After a second of hesitation Finn started to accompany Blaine with a steady beat of his drums and the boys backed him up like Blaine had hoped they would. For a minute he felt like a Warbler again, able to burst out into song whenever and wherever and his fellow Warblers would back him up vocally and the crowd would cheer him on.

"In another life I would make you stay  
>So I don't have to say you were the one that got away<br>The one that got away

In another life I would be your girl  
>We keep all our promises"<p>

Some of the students started laughing, some were shaking their heads like, what the f... It wasn't until the first guy booed that Blaine was fully aware of the change of mood of their audience. The song was supposed to be the cherry on top, but clearly it ruined things. Soon enough the cheers turned into laughter and boos and mean cat-calling. Blaine hadn't spend much thought on the lyrics, but singing about wanting to be someone's girl didn't approve very well with the McKinley crowd.

Blaine kept his eyes on Kurt, bravely finishing the song in a rush before things got worse. Kurt's eyes scanned the crowd warily, clearly expecting a commotion or something bad to happen.

"You are so gay!" Someone shouted.

"Show us what you're wearing underneath, girls!"

"In another life I would be your girl  
>We keep all our promises be us against the world<p>

In another life I would make you stay  
>So I don't have to say you were the one that got away<br>The one that got away."

When the song ended half of the student body had already cleared the assembly hall, the remaining kids were laughing at them and calling them names while some teachers called them to order.

Blaine risked a glance at where Kurt and the girls were sitting to find his boyfriend covering his face in disbelief.

"Well it takes balls to make a complete fool of oneself." Puckerman clapped Blaine's shoulder, leaving the stage.

"No guts no glory," Sam agreed.

"Thanks for going down with me," Blaine sighed. "I appreciate your efforts to make me look less like an idiot."

"No more Katy Perry for you," Mike wiggled his finger at him with a grin.

"New Direction boys!" Principal Figgins' sharp voice tuned out their chatting. "All of you! Into my office, at once!"

* * *

><p>Blaine felt uncomfortable as he hid among the New Direction boys gathering in the principal's office. He knew that their performance might not end well with their audience and cause some trouble with certain fellow students, but he hadn't thought they'd end up talking to Principal Figgins about it.<p>

It didn't help that Kurt had chosen to come with them, standing next to Finn, his arms crossed and sternly waiting for Figgin's sentence as if he had been part of this.

"Can I just say that I find it funny that Kurt's the only one of us wearing pants?" Puckerman muttered to no one in particular. Of course he was heard by those nearest around him and Blaine had to bite down on his lips as not to let a rude comment slip, but it wasn't necessary to defend Kurt, because his boyfriend already reached out and pinched the soft part of Puckerman's arm.

"Ouch! What was that for?" Puckerman exclaimed and rubbed his arm.

"Multiple reasons," Kurt answered with a sly grin.

Blaine suppressed a chuckle at this, but it was only when Kurt smiled and winked at him that Blaine felt like he could breathe again.

They resumed listening to the denunciation Figgins was just giving, with Mr Schuester and Mrs Pillsbury listening just as anxiously as the rest of them.

"The whole performance was inappropriate," Principal Figgins just finished his accusiation speech. "I resent your song choices and especially the outfits."

"Those were all songs that are played in the radio constantly. _Basket_ _case_ is a punk rock classic! Everybody loved it!" Puckerman defended his favorite song.

"This is a school. You cannot sing songs about drugs and sex and violence," Figgins pointed out.

"We also sang about _respect_," Artie chimed in.

"And _make_ _love not war_," Rory added.

"The _Erasure_ song was my idea," Blaine muttered. He wanted to make sure Kurt knew that the _I'm so in love with you_ part was his contribution.

"What about individuality?" Finn asked, steaming. "We have a right to express ourselves."

"Yes, but not in a way that provokes outrage and upsets other students. Clearly, that's what you intended by wearing these." Figgins gestured at their outfits.

"What's wrong with guys wearing skirts?" Finn demanded to know. "Why is it a disturbance?"

"Yeah, it's just an outfit for a performance," Sam said, helping Finn to defend their artistic choices. "It's not like we're walking around in this all the time."

"Even if we were," Finn continued. "What's wrong with that? Girls are wearing pants, too. Why can't guys wear skirts?"

"Kilts," Artie protested weakly.

"That's not the point," Figgins said, talking to Finn. "The point is when you asked me for permission to use the assembly hall for a performance, you didn't tell me that you were going to be dressed like this. You were aiming to stir the pot, to provoke the crowd and create a riot."

"No, we weren't."

"You had to know that showing up dressed like this would cause an uproar at this school."

"Yeah, and why is that?" Finn shot back.

"Finn!" Mr Schuester warned, raising a hand to remind Finn to keep his temper.

"Because the students at this school are narrow-minded Neanderthals and the teachers aren't doing anything about it," Kurt answered his step-brother's question coolly.

"Kurt, watch your mouth!" Mr Schuester turned to him. "What are you doing here, anyway? You're not part of this."

"Principal Figgins called all of the New Direction boys into his office," Kurt countered.

Mr Schuester sighed and shook his head. "Really, Kurt? One day you'll have to decide what you really want. You can't switch sides as you wish. This mess is about the girls versus boys competition and last time I checked you were on the girl's team."

Everybody grew silent, appalled by Mr Schuster's outburst.

Kurt raised his chin, shooting daggers from his eyes at his teacher.

"Fine," Kurt spat out. "I'm sorry. I hope I didn't offend anyone by my presence."

He turned on his heels and left the room.

"Fuck. He's pissed off," Puckerman muttered and leaned closer to Blaine. "If I were you I'd go after him. Angry sex is the best!"

"Mr Schuester," Blaine spoke up, not really knowing what was going to come out of his mouth. All kind of thoughts were twirling around in his head about sexuality and equality and respect and why on earth should Kurt not be allowed to express his individuality and still claim to be what he was, a male member of this group?

"Yes, Blaine?" Mr Schuester looked at him, brows raised and daring him to speak his mind.

"You're an idiot!" With this Blaine stormed off to follow his boyfriend, not waiting for his teacher to respond.

Finn and the rest of the boys exchanged looks of excitement and admiration for Blaine. Did the hobbit really just insult a teacher and storm off to go after his lover? How freaking Braveheart was that?

"Instead of detention I order you to wear these kilts for the rest of the week at school," Figgins addressed the group again. "That way the students can get accustomed to the look and will grow indifferent. In the end an extreme change in dress will not create cause for trouble in the future."

Figgins held up his hands and showed them thumb-ups, grinning about his great idea.

The boys faces fell at this death sentence.

"I feel like I'm gonna faint," Artie muttered under his breath.

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><p><strong>Songs in this chapter: <strong>

**Green Day – Basket Case**

**Blink 182 – The Rock Show**

**Erasure – A Little Respect**

**Katy Perry – The One That Got Away**

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><p><strong>Thank you for reading! :)<strong>


	26. Faces

**WARNING: I tried to write some sexy times for Klaine. I'm not good at it, but I hope you still enjoy the result. ;)**

* * *

><p><strong>Faces <strong>

When Blaine ran out into the hallway he caught a glimpse of his boyfriend disappearing into the restrooms. With flying kilt Blaine hurried down the row of lockers, his black Chucks slapping loudly in the deserted hallway, and stopped short in front of the restroom door, pushing it open.

When Blaine stormed in Kurt looked up startled and put his hand on his heart, but relaxed instantly when he saw his boyfriend. "Blaine! God, don't scare me like that."

Kurt was standing in front of one of the sinks, wiping at his eyes with a paper towel and checking his appearance in the mirror.

"Kurt," Blaine began, perplexed by Kurt's tears. "Are you crying?"

"Yeah, tears of anger!" Kurt balled the paper up in his fist. "I'm so angry with Mr Schue and with this whole school and just everything! I'm so angry I could scream!"

"Then why don't you?" Blaine said, walking down the row of sinks.

"Yeah, right," Kurt chuckled. "Scream at my teacher and risk a suspension?"

Blaine bit down on his lips and pulled a face. "Now that you mention it... I might get another suspension."

"What?" Kurt turned to him with wide eyes. "What for?"

"I just called Mr Schue an idiot in front of everyone and then ran out." Blaine shrugged helplessly.

Kurt stared at him for a second in disbelief before bursting out laughing. "You didn't! You really called him an idiot? I wish I'd heard that."

Blaine grinned sheepishly. "Well, he is. The way he just talked to you..."

"He's right, though, isn't he?" Kurt leaned back against the sink and crossed his arms in front of his chest, looking defeated. "I'm... I don't know. Somehow I feel like I'm torn. I don't really belong _anywhere_."

"How can you say that?" Blaine stepped closer and ran a hand over Kurt's cheek. "You're so multilayered that you can fit in _everywhere_. Just look at you, you've been kicker on the football team, you've been a Cheerio, whatever you choose to become you can be. You can even be on the girls' team! From what I hear the girls love to have you on their team!"

"Yeah, right, they love me on their _team,"_ Kurt repeated in a tired and slightly sarcastic voice.

Blaine narrowed his eyes at him. "Okay, tell me, what's wrong between you and the girls?"

Kurt sighed heavily. "Nothing. I'm just frustrated, that's all."

"And you're frustrated _because?"_ Blaine asked.

"You'll see on Saturday when the girls versus boys begins," Kurt replied with a shrug and when Blaine continued to stare at him, he elaborated.

"You know, the thing is, yes, I can be anything if I put my mind to it. But no matter if I'm on the football team, or in a Cheerleader uniform or even on the girls' team, there's always something or someone telling me that I don't belong and it's so frustrating to keep having to fight for my place."

"See, and that's why you need to go to New York. ASAP." Blaine stroked down Kurt's arms. "You won't feel out of place there."

"Yes, but in New York there are like a million guys like me. While I stick out like a sore thumb in Lima, how will I manage to impress anyone in New York?"

"I'm sure you'll figure out how to succeed in New York once you get there. I believe in you. You're not a box, Kurt, there's more than four sides to you."

Kurt smiled and tugged lightly at the hem of Blaine's shirt. "I once said the same thing to Mr Schue."

"Really?" Blaine smiled, showing his teeth.

"Yes. I also once told Mr Schue to let loose a little and to stop being so fricking uptight all the time," Kurt said with a grin.

Blaine's eyes expanded at that and he let out a chuckle. "Oh, my God, really?"

"Yes, because he refused doing a Britney Spears number with us. I remember wearing a manskirt back then, too." Kurt tapped a finger on his chin. "Mmmh, seems like wearing manskirts makes a person bolder."

"Definitely," Blaine agreed.

"By the way, you look great," Kurt smiled at him in a sexy way and let his hands trail down Blaine's sides.

"You think so?" Blaine asked flirtatiously.

"Yes, I do. In fact seeing you in a kilt makes me want to know what you're wearing underneath it," Kurt whispered and his hands brushed down Blaine's front.

"At least I'm wearing more than Puckerman does," Blaine replied with a wink and moved closer, pushing Kurt back against the sink.

"Oh, my God!" Kurt's eyes widened in shock.

"Yep, that was the general reaction exactly!" Blaine laughed and wrapped his arms tightly around his boyfriend and let his lips travel along Kurt's jaw line, leaving light kisses on the smooth skin.

Kurt tilted his head and succumbed willingly to Blaine's charms.

"So you liked the performance?" Blaine asked breathily.

"I loved it," Kurt cooed, placing his hands on Blaine's behind and pressing their bodies closer together.

Blaine loved the feeling of Kurt's hands on his butt. It made him hungry for more.

"I'm so proud of you and the guys," Kurt murmured against Blaine's skin. "I never thought I'd live to see the day that Finn and the guys would do such a thing. I mean, Finn has dressed up in a bright red shower curtain for me once. But to see all of you clad in kilts... God, I felt like I was caught in one of my pre-teen fantasies." Kurt giggled.

Feeling Kurt's breath on his skin made Blaine shiver with anticipation. "Can I help you live out any more of your fantasies?"

"Well, since you're already dressed in a kilt," Kurt breathed in a low voice, slipping his hand between his boyfriend's legs. "Let's explore what kind of opportunities this holds for us..."

Kurt captured Blaine's mouth and kissed him greedily while his hands gathered up the fabric of the kilt, going straight for the boxershorts and stroking the hard flesh underneath.

Blaine instantly forgot about time and place and just surrendered to the touch. "Oh Kurt, I really need you," he sucked hungrily on Kurt's lips. "I want you so bad."

"I can feel that," Kurt replied in a hoarse voice, thick with desire. He kept stroking his boyfriend and Blaine returned the favor by palming the bulge growing in Kurt's pants.

"Yes, oh please... Kurt..." Blaine hid his face into the crook of Kurt's neck, breathing heavily.

"We're not... doing this..." Kurt dropped his head back as Blaine started sucking the side of his neck. "... nearly often enough..."

"Oh God, I agree," Blaine groaned and grinded against his boyfriend. "Oh, you are so right, Kurt, yes! We should come up with a makeout schedule for school hours! I bet Tina and Mike could help us with the timing and locations and..."

"Don't talk, just kiss." Kurt claimed his boyfriend's mouth once more and they kissed passionately, not caring about anything in the world.

Until...

The restroom door got pushed open.

"Woah, woah, woah!" Finn called out, shielding his eyes with his arm.

"Guys, this is a public restroom!" Artie took his glasses off before he got blinded by the sight of Blaine's naked backside.

"Pink boxers with hearts on them, really, Anderson?" Puckerman asked with a grin. "If we didn't know you were gay before, we'd have a pretty good idea now!"

"We always wondered who wears the pants in your relationship," Sam said jokingly.

Blaine hurried to pull the kilt down and cover himself. He leaned next to his boyfriend on the sink, trying to act all casual as if this happened to him everyday.

"We just wanted to check if you two were okay," Finn excused their sudden interruption, still hiding his face behind his raised arm, not even daring to peek at them. "Obviously you are."

"Come on, we should leave the love birds alone," Mike said with a broad grin, grabbing Artie's chair and pushing him out of the door.

"Hey, yeah, we just came to let you know that you can keep that skirt on for the rest of the week," Finn informed Blaine. "That's Figgin's way of punishing us."

"Sweet," Blaine replied with a sigh, but blushed some more when he noticed the sassy grin his boyfriend shot him.

"Go on, get some, you guys!" Puckerman said with a wink before he went after his teammates. "I'll stand guard in front of the door so no one walks in on you."

Blaine and Kurt looked at one another and burst out laughing.

"I'm sorry," Kurt giggled. "But I can't do the nasty with you with Puck standing outside the door."

"Me, neither!"

"But I have to admitt that I like the prospect of seeing more of you dressed up like this," Kurt bit down on his lips.

"I'm sorry about this mess," Blaine said to Kurt with a sigh. "It wouldn't have ended so disastrously if I hadn't done Katy Perry."

"You singing Katy Perry to me was really sweet," Kurt smiled. "You know I love it when you express your feelings by song, no matter how inappropriate the timing. But why that song?"

"I just... I love you, Kurt. You need to get away from this town. And if we have to be apart for one year than this is how it's meant to be. We'll make it through."

"Do we really have to have this talk every day, love?" Kurt leaned his forehead against Blaine's. "You're miserable, Blaine, don't deny it. I won't leave you when I know you're feeling insecure and lost. I want to help you fight your demons."

Blaine didn't trust his voice to answer. He just hugged his boyfriend and rested his chin on Kurt's shoulder, holding him tight.

"I know you're not showing your real face to everyone," Kurt softly continued. "You're trying to please everyone, but that's impossible and you get frustrated and angry. It's not a weakness. It's self-protection. But you should know that I love all of your faces, Blaine. The hidden ones and the ones you let show."

Blaine felt kind of embarrassed to hear his boyfriend telling him that he knew about his different faces. Suddenly he felt like a fraud and like he had to explain himself. He leaned back to look at Kurt. "I just want to have control, you know? I want to be prepared and see what's coming at me. I feel lost when I don't have that."

"I know, love. But most of the time you don't have control over what's happening to you, life doesn't work that way," Kurt replied with a one-sided shrug. "Most of the time you just have to take a risk and see how it turns out. That's what I want to do by staying in Lima for another year. And I trust you to help me pull through this. I want to be there for you, but I also need you, too."

"I'll be there for you any way you need me to be," Blaine promised with a teary smile.

"I know." Kurt swiped his thumb across Blaine's cheek and smiled at him. "So, what are we gonna do about our chaperon waiting outside?"

Blaine broke into a grin. "I don't want him to dwell any longer on what we might be doing in here. I mean thinking about Puck thinking about us having sex is kind of weird, don't you agree?"

Kurt laughed out loud and linked arms with Blaine. "Let's get out of here before he starts whispering suggestions to us from under the door like a theater prompter."

He pushed open the door and indeed Puckerman was standing guard. He had an easy job since classes were still running and the hallway was deserted.

"You can get to class now, Noah," Kurt said, amused about the way their schoolmate was seizing them up. Of course Puckerman noticed how Blaine was stealthily wiping at his eyes.

"See, I told you about angry sex," Puckerman said proudly, nudging Blaine. "The best sex is the one that makes you shed some tears."

"Kinky." Kurt raised a brow at Puckerman.

With a laugh Puckerman walked off.

"We'd better hurry to class, too," Kurt said with a sigh, dragging Blaine down the hallway to their lockers when they walked right into Mrs Pillsbury.

"There you are," she said with a smile. "Blaine, if you have a minute, I'd like to talk to you now. Don't worry, I'll excuse you from class."

"Oh, okay," Blaine said.

"See you later," Kurt smiled, then spun in a half-circle and walked off. He took a few steps before turning back and whisper-calling, "Let me know immediately what this is all about." Kurt motioned meaningfully towards Mrs Pillsbury's office.

Blaine nodded in a promise, before he followed the guidance counselor inside her office.

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><p><strong>Thank you for reading!<strong>

**Thank you **_**WaitingForThisMomentToBeFree **_** for your help and encouragement! Love you! :)**


	27. Take A Chance

**Thank you to everyone for your wonderful reviews and your love! I hope you enjoy this happy chapter. :)**

**A very special THANK-YOU goes to **_**WaitingForThisMomentToBeFree **_** for helping me with this chapter. I loved all of your suggestions and I hope you like the little changes I did in the end. :)**

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><p><strong>Take A Chance<strong>

"Please take a seat."

Ms. Pillsbury smiled sweetly at him and Blaine relaxed. Whatever the counselor was about to tell him, at least he was sure she wasn't going to rip his head off.

Still, he was wary as he sat down and smoothed the kilt over his knees.

"Before you start, can I just ask how Mr Schuester's mood is about me calling him an idiot in front of everyone?" Blaine asked anxiously. "Should I expect another suspension?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ms. Pillsbury said with a conspiratioral wink. "I didn't hear anything and neither did Mr Schuester or Principal Figgins."

"Oh, that's odd," Blaine murmured. "But thank you for not having heard anything."

He still had no clue why he was here and could only assume that it had something to do with the counselor's talk with Kurt the other day. Probably she just wanted to check on him to make sure he was alright after Kurt had told her about his past experiences with bullying.

Ms. Pillsbury looked at him all earnest and sincere, making Blaine shift uncomfortably in his chair.

"As you probably know Kurt was in my office last Friday," she began seriously, folding her hands on her desk. "He asked me for his options in case he stayed in Lima and explained the situation to me..."

"I hate that he's doing this for me," Blaine interrupted, letting her know that he wasn't a pushy boyfriend who was making his partner stay and postpone his career chances.

Ms. Pillsbury just arched her eyebrows at him, her large Bambi eyes confused by his statement.

"No, I have to rephrase that," Blaine hurried to say. "The truth is that I love him like crazy for doing this," Blaine explained, "but I hate that I'm the reason he's staying in Lima. I wish I could do something, _anything_ to not let that happen; still I don't know how to convince Kurt to leave without me because the truth is that I don't _want_ him to leave me and he _knows_ that! Oh God, does any of this even make sense?"

Blaine took a deep breath and looked up at Ms. Pillsbury who just stared at him wide-eyed like a deer in headlights.

"I just don't want him to make such a sacrifice for me." Blaine shook his head slowly.

"Well, Blaine, maybe I have a solution for you. Kurt has told me that you'll turn eighteen in a couple of weeks. I did a little research and it seems that it's possible for you to…"

"...drop out of school legally." Blaine finished the sentence with a nod. "I know about that, but my parents would kill me if I left school without a proper graduation."

"Oh, no, no, that's not what I was suggesting." The petite redhead waved her hands no. Then she produced a pamphlet out of her desk drawer and placed it gingerly on the surface of her desk.

"Please take a look at this," she encouraged him with a smile and pushed the pamphlet gently towards him with the fingertips of both hands.

Blaine leaned forward to cast a glance at it and then scrunched up his forehead in confusion.

"Night school classes?" he read the topic and shoved the pamphlet back to her with a sigh. "Thank you, Ms. Pillsbury, but I don't think my grades are so bad that I need tutoring."

With a lovely smile gracing her fine features she gave the pamphlet another little push back in his direction. "This is not for tutoring. Please take a look inside."

Blaine grabbed the pamphlet and opened it. Inside it read:

_You're already eighteen,  
>but you had to repeat a year<br>due to unfortunate circumstances?_

_Attend night school to catch up  
>and be able to graduate<br>together with your friends!  
><em>

"Oh my God," Blaine breathed not daring to hope. "Is this what I think it is?"

Ms. Pillsbury's lips curled up in a cute smile, watching him expectantly. "Kurt mentioned that you were still a junior because of… well, unfortunate circumstances. I took the liberty to call up a friend of mine, Linda Willow, who teaches night classes for students in your situation."

"Kurt didn't say anything about this!" Blaine exclaimed in surprise.

"Kurt doesn't know about this," Ms. Pillsbury explained. "I wanted to check with Linda first before I proposed the possibility to you."

"Why haven't I heard of this option before?" Blaine was confused. "When I transferred to Dalton my parents and I had a long talk with the principal about me having to repeat a year. The possibility of catching up by taking night school classes never came up."

"Well, sometimes expensive private schools tend to not mention this possibility in favor of keeping their students for as long as possible..."

"...because they pay monthly fees," Blaine finished her sentence with a shake of his head. "I get it."

"I checked the conditions first to see whether or not it was already too late for you to join the program, but my friend Linda says you can still sign in."

Suddenly Blaine got all teary-eyed and instantly Ms. Pillsbury offered him a box of tissues.

"Blaine, are you okay?"

"Yeah!" He nodded and took a deep breath, wiping his eyes with a Kleenex. "You have no idea. This is the solution to all my problems!"

"I have to warn you," the counselor said in a soft voice. "It won't be an easy ride, Blaine. Classes are three nights a week and every Saturday."

Blaine only hesitated for a second. He'd have regular school lessons in the morning, then work his afternoon shift at Burt's garage and then go to night school in the evening and on Saturday's. Also he would have to keep up with his regular homework assignments. He wouldn't have much free time for anything else, including seeing Kurt. Still, if it meant that he could graduate with Kurt and go to New York with him, then all the extra work would be worth it.

"When can I start?" Blaine asked eagerly.

"Well, her class already started, but she agreed to give you some extra tutoring to catch up. If you sign up quickly you can join her class this week. However, since you're not eighteen yet, you'll need the signature of one of your parents."

Blaine stood and leaned over the desk to hug Ms. Pillsbury affectionately. "Thank you! Thank you so much! You have no idea! This is perfect!"

"You're welcome," Ms. Pillsbury laughed and patted his back, feeling awkward by his embrace. "Don't forget to have your parents sign this."

"Thank you, Ms. Pillsbury! Thank you! I gotta go and tell Kurt about this!" Blaine grabbed the papers and left Ms. Pillsbury's office in a run, hurrying along the hallway that held most of the classrooms. It was busy as everybody was just changing class. He bounced up and down a little so he could scan the crowd for Kurt.

He saw Kurt walking down the hallway with Tina and Mike and ran faster, waving the pamphlet in his hand. "Kurt! Kurt! Look at this!"

Kurt and their friends stopped walking and turned around to wait for him. Without hesitation Blaine threw himself into Kurt's arms, laughing and crying at the same time.

"Blaine, what is it?" Kurt asked absolutely terrified. "You're scaring me!"

"We can graduate together! I just have to attend night classes. We can go to New York together!"

"What are you talking about?" Kurt asked baffled by Blaine's excitement.

"Yeah, what's going on?" Mike asked.

"I've just talked to Ms. Pillsbury," Blaine explained beaming at his friends and holding up the pamphlet. "And she gave me this! I can take night school classes and catch up with you guys and then I can graduate together with you!"

"Oh my God," Kurt's hand flew up to cover his mouth as he stared at his boyfriend. "I don't believe it." Kurt murmured, still wary of the news. "Is this true?"

"Yes, yes, it's true!" Blaine hugged his boyfriend again. "I don't have to stay at McKinley for another year. I just have to attend night classes!"

"Oh my God!" Kurt hugged him back, almost crushing Blaine's bones and laughing happily. "We're going to New York together!"

"That's incredible!" Tina clapped her hands excitedly.

"Wow, that's really great, man!" Mike said, his hand on Blaine's shoulder. "I can help you study if you want me to."

"Thanks Mike." Blaine beamed at him, then he turned back to face his boyfriend. "And thank you, Kurt. Ms. Pillsbury told me she got the idea when you spoke to her last week. If you hadn't talked to her she'd never looked for this."

Blaine's voice was full of emotion and his eyes were tearing up again. In this moment Blaine was so happy he didn't care that they were in a crowded hallway; he took Kurt's face in both hands and kissed him square on the mouth. He didn't care about all the students around them or that he was still wearing a kilt.

"There! They're doing it again!" Rick the Stick squealed and pointed at them. Sue Sylvester was walking next to him, grabbing his shoulders and moving him forward without acknowledging the gay kissing in the hallway.

"Get used to it!" Mike shouted at Rick.

Blaine just laughed at him. Nothing could taint his happiness. "I love you, Kurt!" he said with his arms still around Kurt's waist.

Kurt smiled back at him, but a second later his smile faded and he shook his head slowly. "I can't believe this is really happening," he said, suddenly looking concerned. "This is too good to be true. There has to be a catch."

"But there isn't!" Blaine assured him.

"Tina?" Kurt turned to his friend. "I need a quiet place to think straight."

"Mike and I just used the Spanish room." Tina pointed down the hall. "There are no classes today."

"Thanks." Kurt linked arms with Blaine and they ducked into the abandoned Spanish classroom. Kurt closed the door and walked into the room. He spun a chair around and sat, looking so tired all of a sudden.

"What's wrong?" Blaine asked concerned. He tilted his head like a confused puppy. "You don't seem to be happy about this."

"I am," Kurt said, not sounding very reassuring. "It's just... Blaine, I don't like seeing any more stress heaped onto your pile and night school sounds like an awful lot of stress to me."

"I can make it!" Blaine protested. "I might not be able to see you that often anymore, but what's that compared to being able to move to New York together? I thought that's what we wanted."

"Of course I love the idea of graduating together. I just want you to think this through." Kurt gestured helplessly. "Let's say we graduate together and I get into NYADA, what about you? You've missed all application deadlines for colleges. What will you do in New York?"

"I'll just do what you were about to do," Blaine replied with a shrug. "Find me a job, save up some money and wait for my turn. Look, the way I see it, it's either you staying in Lima, working some stupid job, waiting for me to finish high school, or it's me working some stupid job in New York while waiting for my time to apply to NYADA or elsewhere. I'd rather spend one year working in New York with you than another year at my parent's house watching them get weirder and weirder every day."

Blaine slumped down into a chair next to Kurt. Why did he have to face reality when he just wanted to escape it? Ms. Pillsbury had presented him the perfect answer to all of his problems. He didn't care about how much work he had to put into achieving this high-staked goal, he just wanted to leave his parent's house and be with someone who made him feel loved.

"Blaine, all this sounds amazing, but don't you think it's going to be too much pressure for you? You're still dealing with other stuff as well, like recovering from your encounter with Sebastian and the demons of your past," Kurt reminded him. "You still need to find an outlet for your anger. I think boxing is a great thing for starters, but you also need to learn how to talk about what's bothering you inside." Kurt reached out to squeeze his hand. "I'd love for you to see Ms. Pillsbury about your rage issues Blaine. Like, regularly. I don't want you to take your demons to New York."

Blaine nodded slowly. "Okay. I think I can do that."

"Thank you," Kurt kissed Blaine's cheek and took both of his boyfriend's hands into his own. "And I want you to promise me that you won't cling to this night school idea as your last hope. It's alright if you're not able to make it. I will stay in Lima then. I don't..." Suddenly Kurt's voice broke and he finished his words with a heartwrenching sigh, "I don't want you to work yourself up over this."

Blaine tilted his head to him. "I just want to take a chance on catching up and graduate with you."

Kurt smiled at him and leaned against his shoulder. There were tears glistening in Kurt's eyes and Kurt ducked his head and wiped his face as the tears escaped.

"Kurt, what is it?" Blaine put his arm around his boyfriend.

"I'm sorry I'm in such a whiny mood today." Kurt apologized, wiping tears from his face. "Must be my period." He chuckled and then added quickly, "Sorry, I need to stop spending so much time with the girls, their girly talk totally rubs off on me."

Blaine closed his arms around him and Kurt melted into them, letting him hold him and comfort him.

"Everything's going to be just fine." Blaine assured him, rocking him a little bit from side to side. "Don't worry about a thing." Blaine kissed Kurt's forehead and let his fingers run through the short hair on the back of Kurt's head, for as long as it took Kurt to regain control of his emotions.

"Kurt, let me do this for you. For _us._ At least I have to give it a try."

"What if you put yourself through all of this stress and in the end I don't make it into NYADA?" Kurt whispered the words. "The fact that I'm a finalist doesn't mean I get in. What if I mess up the audition? Then all of your efforts to graduate early would be in vain."

"Seems to me like you're the one who's stressed out." Blaine said with a little chuckle and pressed his lips on Kurt's temple. "You're gonna make it, Kurt," Blaine assured him. "You're just scared of the future. Everybody is. Even Rachel. That's why she wants you to go to New York with her. Nobody wants to face the future alone."

"I just don't know what's the right thing to do," Kurt sighed, digging his fingers into Blaine's shirt. "Some days I don't know if I should be cautious or couragious. I dress down as not to attrack bullies and the next day I think _screw 'em _and then again I get scared and keep thinking what if something happens to one of us? It's so damn hard to be brave."

"Tell me about it," Blaine squeezed him harder. "I feel the same, Kurt. But I tell you what: I want you to dress up in your best and most fabulous clothes again for the rest of the week while we boys wear our kilts. I want to see you wearing your fox tail again."

Kurt giggled and sighed, finally looking up again. "You're the best boyfriend ever," he sniffed.

"No, that award goes to you already."

"I just love you so much."

"Love you too," Blaine murmured and softly kissed his boyfriend's lips.

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><p><strong>Thank you for reading! :)<strong>


	28. Control

**Stasia, thanks for helping me out again with this chapter. Btw, I'd love to run into you face-first someday, although I don't believe the "favorite author" part for one second, haha. Without your help my sentences would sound awfully awkward. ;)**

**Also, thank you to all of my lovely readers and reviewers! I love to hear from you! Keep your feedback coming my way, please! :)**

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><p><strong>Control<strong>

"When I was 17 I did what people told me  
>Did what my father said and let my mother mold me<p>

Got my own mind  
>I wanna make my own decisions<p>

When it has to do with my life, I want to be the one in control!"

On his way home Blaine had a song stuck in his head. It was their Sectionals hit from Janet Jackson, _Control_, and he sang it as loud as he could.

With Ms. Pillsbury's pamphlet and registration form in his bag he felt like he had finally regained some control of what was happening in his life. He was determined to work hard and succeed. Finally he was able to laugh at all those bullies in his past who had caused him to miss a schoolyear. He would be on time again, he would graduate with Kurt and move to New York.

Nothing could stop him from this plan.

He got home and kicked off his shoes. Tiffany came running to him and he scooped her up, making her purr against his chest.

"Hi cutie!" he greeted her and dug his nose into her white fur. "Where is everyone?"

It was eerily quiet in the house. He had expected his parents to be home already, because it was past eleven.

After working his afternoon shift at Burt's garage he had been out with Kurt, Finn and Rachel and they had celebrated the now achievable possibility of them all graduating together. Rachel had already made plans on how they would rent a big apartment and live in New York together. She had even made a chores schedule and argued heatedly with Kurt about who would be responsible to take the trash out on which day of the week.

Blaine grinned to himself. It had been encouraging to see that his friends were being absolutely positive that he would make it.

He heard a coughing sound coming from the living room.

"Mom?" Blaine entered the salon slowly, testing the waters.

His mother seemed to be in a weird mood. She sat in the dark with just a couple of candles on the coffee table. The TV was turned off. Elaine was just staring at the glass of red wine in her hand.

"What's wrong?" Blaine asked, releasing the cat to the floor and sitting down next to his mother. He only now noticed her puffy eyes and the way her whole body was shaking.

"Mom?"

"He's left us," Elaine said hoarsely, almost inaudible. "He's packed his things and he's gone."

For a moment Blaine didn't understand what she was saying. He just couldn't wrap his head around the meaning of her words.

"I knew about his affair for a couple of months, but I hadn't thought it was a serious thing." His mother sobbed heartbreakingly. "Now he just walks out of the door and doesn't give a shit about us."

Blaine was utterly confused. "I don't understand. What does this mean? Are you taking a break?"

"Your father and I are getting divorced." Elaine explained and cleared her throat, trying to regain her composure. "He's moving to Chicago to live with her."

Blaine swallowed hard, not sure how to react. Even after all the fighting he had never thought of the possibility that his parents would break up.

"It's only you and me now, Blainers," his mother said. She reached out and clasped his hand, squeezing it tightly. "We'll manage, don't you think? We don't need him anyway."

Blaine nodded, but he felt numb.

He noticed that his mother was crying silent tears and held out a box of Kleenex to her. She plucked a couple of tissues from the box and blew her nose.

After this relevation Blaine just wanted to go upstairs and hide away, but he stayed with his mother for a while longer while she cried, fighting back his own tears, because he needed to be strong for her.

But the truth was Blaine didn't know what to do.

He just knew he couldn't go through with his idea of taking night school classes. He couldn't leave his mother alone. He'd had to take care of her until she was okay again.

When Blaine finally retreated to his room with Tiffany on his heels all the cheerfulness from earlier was gone.

"Have you seen this coming, Tiffy?" Blaine asked his cat in a conversational tone. "You really could've warned me."

He threw the night-school pamphlets as well as the registration form on his desk and sat down in his office chair. Swiveling left to right, round and round, he felt as though he could scream in frustration until he exploded and just crumbled away. Instead, he remained silent and stoic.

Tiffany jumped on his bed, watching him like she wanted to say, _Come on, who cares about your dumb parents? It's you and me now, bud. Who needs those idiots anyway?_

"But they're my parents," Blaine said to the cat.

Tiffany looked at him indifferently and then curled up on his pillow, throwing him a look that said, _Are you coming or what? I'm tired as hell._

Blaine sighed. He pulled his vest over his head and threw it carelessly on the floor. He caught Tiffany's disapproving glance and quickly bent to pick the vest up again and fold it neatly. No need to get messy over this.

"I just don't want to disappoint anyone," he told the cat and unbuttoned his shirt. "But I guess that's the story of my life. I end up disappointing everyone!"

Tiffany made a grumpy sound, telling him he should shut up and get to bed.

His phone beeped. He got it out of his pocket and read the text he had received from Kurt.

_Are you still awake? Can I call? – K _

Blaine glanced at his alarm clock. It was after midnight. He had failed to send Kurt a text telling him he'd arrived home safely. Kurt had probably spend the past hour wondering and worrying.

Blaine sat down on his bed and stared at his phone. "See?" he told Tiffany. "I have to disappoint him now. Better get it over and done with, right?"

He called Kurt and his boyfriend answered immediately.

"Hi love!" Kurt said. "Sorry, I don't mean to be the kind of controlling boyfriend who checks on you every hour. I just wanted to know if you got home all right."

"I know," Blaine said with a faint voice. Kurt sounded so caring and loving that it broke his heart to disappoint him.

"What's wrong?" Kurt asked alarmed.

Blaine let out a hoarse laugh. He loved that Kurt could tell that something was off with him just by the sound of his voice.

"Blaine, honey?"

"My parents are getting divorced," Blaine said, trying to swallow the lump in his throat. He bit his lips to keep from bawling, but it was useless.

"Oh honey, I'm so sorry," Kurt said. "What happened? How did you find out?"

"My mom just told me. My dad already moved out. I didn't tell her about the night classes. I couldn't."

Blaine faltered and begann weeping.

"I don't know what to do, Kurt."

There was silence for a moment and Blaine could hear Kurt breathing on the other end of the line.

"You'll do exactly what you told me to do the other day," Kurt replied in a gentle, but firm voice. "Keep all options open. I'll do the NYADA audition and you'll do the night classes. Just in case."

"But I can't leave my mom alone," Blaine argued with a sigh. "When I go to night classes I'll be home at eleven at the latest. I don't want her to feel lonely."

"Blaine, when was the last time your mother had been home at a decent hour?" Kurt pointed out. "Not much will change. She'll work ungodly hours in the office and you'll be the one sitting home alone. I don't want to be mean, but, Blaine, your mother doesn't need you. I understand that she's hurt and vulnerable right now, but I'm sure she'll be fine. Please don't give up on the night school idea on her behalf. You'll regret it."

"What about next year?" Blaine said, still sounding uncertain. "How can I go to New York and leave her sitting in this house all by herself?"

"You don't know what'll be next year. Perhaps she'll have found another partner by then," Kurt said, sounding reasonable. "Look, your mother needs your support, but she doesn't need you to hold her hand twenty-four/seven. But, if you still feel like you can't leave her by the time you graduate, it's your choice whether or not you come to New York with me. Also, I could still stay in Lima if it makes things easier for you."

"No," Blaine said, his voice regaining power. "I want to go to New York with you. You're right, I'll have to wait and see what time will bring for my mother and me." He inhaled deeply and stood, wiping the tears off his cheeks. "I need to do night school."

"I love you," Kurt said proudly.

"I love you, too, Kurt," Blaine said in a firm voice. "I'll go and talk to my mother now."

"Now?" Kurt asked.

"Yeah, or else I won't sleep all night. Better get it done and over with, right?"

"Please call me afterwards," Kurt said. "Or else _I_ won't sleep all night."

Blaine chuckled and ended the call with the promise to let Kurt know the outcome of his conversation with his mother.

He went into his bathroom to check his appearance in the mirror. He didn't want to look all teary-eyed when he faced his mother again.

"This is a story about control," he said to his reflection in a strong voice. "My control. And this time I'm going to do it my way."

The man in the mirror smiled back at him reassuringly, telling him that he had faith in him. He could do this. "When it has to do with my life, I want to be the one in control."

Blaine walked back into his room. "Wish me luck," Blaine said to his cat, only to find that Tiffany was already sprawled across his pillow snoring away.

He took the pamphlet and the registration form and went downstairs. To his surprise he found his mother in the kitchen, cleaning the counter.

"Mom, I need to talk to you about something." He sat down on a stool at the kitchen island and put the paper on the top.

His mother looked at him curiously, her eyes still puffy and red, and took off her rubber gloves. She picked up the paper and read it silently.

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><p><strong>Thank you for reading! <strong>

**Please leave me a review if you like! :)**


	29. The Girls Versus Boys Performance

**SORRY SORRY SORRY! I'm so sorry for the delay on this story! I hope you're all still with me! :)**

**We're finally getting to the girls vs boys performance! It took me a while, I know, and the focus of the story has shifted a lot, but I have still a couple of cute chapters in store, so this isn't the end yet. ;)**

**Like I've mentioned before, I'm going to the CHRIS COLFER BOOK SIGNING in LONDON this Sunday! I'd love to meet anyone of you there. I'm the dark haired one with bangs who will be a nervous wreck, clutching her books in sweaty hands and repeating "I can't believe I'm really here, I can't believe I'm getting to stand in front of CHRIS COLFER" over and over again. So I should be easy to find in the crowd ;)**

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><p>"Nervous?" Mike asked, slightly amused as he watches Blaine rocking up and down on his heels.<p>

"How can you tell?" Blaine twitched his arms, as if loosening up for a run, his eyes fixated on the entrance to the auditorium.

"You really want me to answer that?" Mike laughed. "It's been a while since you've seen your Dalton buddies. I understand it must be weird to meet them in competition again."

"Sectionals was good, though," Blaine replied. "I liked seeing them all in action again. Except for..."

"I know," Mike nodded, signaling to Blaine that it wasn't necessary to finish his sentence or even speak out the name. "Just ignore him."

Blaine let out a sigh. Ignoring Sebastian was easier said than done. The guy was just too persistent. Although the Warbler hadn't bothered Blaine this week at all so perhaps he'd given up. Or found a new target.

"Guys! How's the spirit?" Finn asked, walking into the middle of the boys group. "Are we ready to win this thing?"

He was met with a loud cheer, Blaine being one of the loudest.

It had only been two weeks, but it felt like a year had passed since Mr Schue had announced the idea for a girls versus boys competition.

Today was the day. It was Saturday afternoon and any minute now Blaine's old friends the Warbler's would be there with them in the auditorium and bringing with them the annoying Sebastian Smythe.

So much had happened in Blaine's life in the past two weeks, especially exploring his relationship with Kurt and finding out that they were safe. Nothing and no one could tear them apart. Of course Blaine felt like celebrating.

Harmony and the Unitards were already there, talking to the ND girls and Kurt.

"Feels weird wearing pants again," Sam said to no one in particular and Puckerman nodded. "I'm telling you, we could've rocked this thing in the kilts, man!"

Blaine laughed out loud at that.

The New Direction boys had survived the rest of the week wearing kilts. In fact it had been the best week Blaine has ever had at McKinley High so far. Walking around in kilts with the guys was not only the most fun but also the best way of bonding Blaine had ever experienced.

It definitely glues you together when you're a bunch of young guys strutting down the hall in kilts, head held high and daring the other guys at school to make fun of you.

With strongheaded guys like Puckerman and Finn and Sam leading them on the ND boys wore their kilts proudly – even Artie – and everyone including the hockey team members got used to the sight and only grunted when they passed by.

Puck and Sam even claimed to like that look so much that they considered wearing kilts more often, especially in summer time.

Kurt was the only ND member who didn't participate in the kilt rule much to everyone's disappointment. _Everyone_ being Blaine. But who was he to complain when his boyfriend was wearing skinny jeans instead.

The kilt idea was kind of like wearing uniforms, Blaine pondered. Of course Kurt would decline taking part in dressing like everybody else did. Blaine on the other hand liked it. He was a firm believer that uniforms helped to create a sense of companionship.

"Look who's here," Mike elbowed Blaine gently and nodded towards the entrance.

Speaking of uniform clad boys, the Warblers had just arrived. Blaine smiled at seeing his friends, especially Wesley and David. But his smile faltered when he saw the tall figure of Sebastian Smythe leading the group.

"Just say a word and we'll put him in his place," Mike muttered with a scowl towards the grinning Warbler. Sam nodded severly at his words.

Blaine smiled for good measure. It seemed like all of the ND boys knew about his trouble with Sebastian by now. It appeared that Mike had told them, putting them on the alert for any trouble that Sebastian might cause.

He was grateful for the back-up, but it wasn't needed. He didn't want to look like he couldn't handle a troublemaker like Sebastian.

"Thanks, but I'm fine," Blaine answered. "I'll go and say hello."

However, before Blaine went to see his Dalton friends he stood on his toes to scan the gathering crowd for his boyfriend. He wanted to have Kurt by his side when he was about to face Sebastian.

Before he could start to worry a hand slipped into his, startling and comforting him all at once.

Kurt snuck up from behind, his hand squeezing Blaine's and his whisper warm and tender at his right ear. "Want to go and welcome your friends?"

Blaine let out a breath and smiled at Kurt. "Yes, let's go."

Kurt didn't let go of his hand as they walked across the auditorium towards the group of boys that were their friends. They only parted to hug and shake hands with their ex-teammates, but when the hellos were said, Kurt's hand found its way into Blaine's again and Blaine held it proudly, making sure Sebastian saw it.

"Holy shit, your girls look hot!" Wesley said, craning his neck to get a better look at the ND girls across the room.

"Thanks," Kurt said, grinning proudly. "The dresses are my design."

"Good job," David agreed. "Especially the low cut of the top."

"And the show-off of their legs," Wesley added.

"Guys, stop drooling all over the place," Blaine said with a laugh. "You're behaving like you've never seen girls before."

"It's no surprise that Kurt knows how to dress up girls since he's dressing like one himself all of the time," Sebastian said in his best snarky voice.

Blaine let out a huff and was about to say something, but Kurt squeezed his hand, making him look at him. "I think it's time we get our places."

"See you guys later," David said and patted Blaine's shoulder as they passed.

"I would've given Sebastian a piece of my mind!" Blaine murmured.

"Don't let him get to you," Kurt said, tutting and leaning against Blaine's arm. "He just wants you to get angry. Believe me, it bugs him more when you ignore him."

"I guess you're right."

Kurt smiled at him lovingly and gave his hand a last squeeze. "Just enjoy the show."

Blaine smiled back at him and returned to the ND boys while Kurt wandered off to join the girls.

Mr Schuester and Ms. Pillsbury were hosting the competition.

It had been decided that The Unitards should start, followed by the Warblers and the New Direction girls, so that the boys would perform last.

Blaine settled in the audience next to Mike, enjoying the performance of the Unitards who did an amazing broadway number that Blaine was sure had Rachel on the edge.

They applauded them and waited for the Warbler's to show up on stage.

"So, how are the night classes going?" Mike asked him and Blaine smiled happily.

"Good so far," Blaine told him proudly. He had been to three classes already including his first Saturday. Actually, he had barely made it in time for the girls versus boys competition. "It's very stressful, but I'm sure I'll get used to it."

"Just let me know if you need any help. I could tutor you, you know."

"I might come back to that offer," Blaine said, gratefully. "Although Kurt already offered me the same."

"Are you kidding me?" Mike chuckled. "As if you'd learn anything with Kurt around except for some dirty French."

Blaine opened his mouth to protest, but Mike held up his hand.

"Don't tell me you're not just staring at his mouth when he's talking to you. Studying with your boyfriend is useless, believe me. I tried studying with Tina and we ended up doing, well, something else instead."

"You may have a point," Blaine said, squinting his eyes. "I'm just worried that I'm missing out on too much going on around me. On the nights when I have classes I can't call Kurt anymore. It's just getting too late, but I hate not talking to him."

They clapped for the _Unitards_. Harmony did a great job and Blaine was sure that Rachel and Kurt would be personally insulted by her talent and determined to beat her.

Blaine glanced over across the audience, a few rows down where Kurt was sitting among the girls. It was too far away to hear what they were talking about, but Blaine could see that Rachel and Kurt had their heads stuck together and Rachel was gesturing wildly. He saw Kurt chuckling and for a moment he wanted to walk over and sit close to them, just to be able to listen to what made Kurt laugh. The whole girls versus boys thing still bothered Blaine. He would be glad when this day was over and the silly gender separation was over and done with. He missed Kurt and he missed hanging with the girls.

The _Warblers_ entered the stage next.

It was still a strange feeling watching his Warbler friends perform without him. Blaine missed his friends and the camaderie he had felt with them. But he wouldn't want to change a thing. He was a member of the New Directions and not just on the paper, he felt like one of them now.

"You miss them," Mike observed earnestly.

"No, it's more like that I get sentimental being reminded of the time I had with them," Blaine explained. "But now that I'm part of the New Directions I don't miss the old times all that much. Especially after this week I really feel like I'm one of you guys now."

Mike cocked his head at hearing that and flashed a smile. "I'm glad you feel that way."

The Warbler's did a great job, harmonizing and dancing in sync. Blaine tried to ignore the way Sebastian kept glancing over at him, winking and even pointing at him. It was distracting, though, and Blaine wished Sebastian would just leave it be.

"God, he's a total jerk," Mike muttered to his left and Blaine had to bite his bottom lip as not to laugh out loud.

He looked over the rows to where Kurt was sitting among the girls and caught Kurt's eye. His boyfriend was throwing him a pointed look, nodding at the show onstage and raising his eyebrows like, wtf? Blaine returned the grin and held Kurt's gaze. He loved to talk to Kurt like this, without words, just reading in his eyes.

He felt that the bond between Kurt and himself had definitely grown stronger. He was so glad and relieved that he had finally shared all his troubles with Kurt; to trust in him had made them grow closer together. Still, he felt like there was something Kurt wasn't telling him, something that was bothering Kurt. Blaine hoped that Kurt would soon feel safe to trust in him, too.

There was a ten minutes break after the performance of the Warblers. The New Direction girls would be up next.

The boys took the time to exchange last minute advice.

"Just keep your heads," Finn just said. "Don't let the girls intimidate you with whatever performance they're about to pull off."

"We should do some sit-ups before we get on stage," Sam suggested. "You know, to get the adrenaline pumping."

"Come to think of it, getting ready for a performance is a lot like getting ready for sex," Puckerman said and earned himself a lot of arched eyebrows from his fellow teammates.

"What do you mean?" Finn asked, confused.

"You know," Puckerman went on, "you're really focused on succeeding and anticipating the act, you can't wait for it to happen and then it's just a couple of minutes and everything's done and over with and you're exhausted like you'd run a marathon and all you want to do afterwards is rest and eat."

"You would know," Blaine said with a laugh. "From what I hear you've got a lot of experience."

"Don't act so innocent, Anderson," Puckerman grinned back at him. "I bet Kurt and you are doing it like rabbits."

"Excuse me?" Blaine raised his eyebrows.

"Come on, everybody knows that gay dudes are like sex machines."

Blaine just shook his head, amused. He'd learned not to take anything coming out of Puckerman's mouth too seriously.

"Why's that?" Sam was asking.

"Because men are always horny! It's only the girls that have migraines and girls issues. It doesn't matter that Kurt acts kind of girly sometimes, I bet he's using his dick just like everyone else does."

Finn threw his hands in the air. "Stop it! You're talking about my brother, geez! I don't want those images in my head!"

"What? In my head I have sex with people all of the time," Puck explained with a shrug. "When I meet someone first thing I imagine how I'd do them."

The boys laughed at that, but Puckerman just looked around innocently. "What?"

"Are you saying that you've had sex in your head," Artie asked slowly, "_with all of us?_"

The boys stared at Puckerman, who grinned at them. "Sure."

The boys gulped in perplexion at this relevation, letting the information sink in.

Then Artie asked, "So, just for the record, who of us has been the best in your mind-sex?"

Blaine chuckled at this question, as did the other boys. After all, with guys it's always about competition. Bigger, faster, stronger.

"Woah!" Finn backed off. "I don't want to hear this!"

"Relax," Puckerman said. "It's not you, dickhead."

"Then who is?" Sam asked, grinning.

Puckerman's grin expanded. "Not present."

"What?"

"If the question is who I'd had the best head-sex with of the _guys_ of New Directions, then he's not with us right now."

"Kurt?" Finn asked astonished.

"Yeah, of course Kurt," Puck said. "First of all he's got the prettiest face of you bunch. And second, have you ever seen him high-kicking? He's incredible flexible. Why do you think I'm chasing all the Cheerios? It's proven that athletics are the most amazing people in bed. Plus, Kurt's personality is like a mix of Santana bitchiness and Rachel fierceness, very sexy!"

Blaine nodded at that.

"And let me tell you when he tweaked my nipple this week that was a real turn-on," Puckerman added with a wave of his hand as if he'd burned it.

"Hey, now!" Blaine held his hand up. "Kurt's my boyfriend! Have mind-sex with someone else!"

"Don't look at me!" Finn freaked out when Puckerman rested his gaze on him.

"What?" Puckerman shook his head. "I'm not doing anything."

"Let's focus, boys!" Finn said. "The girls are on!"

The New Direction girls just entered the stage, the light in the auditorium was being dimmed and all eyes were on them.

"Why's Kurt not with them?" Mike observed and nudged Blaine's arm.

With furrowed brows Blaine glanced over to where the girls had been sitting. Kurt had remained seated.

"Something's wrong," Blaine muttered and just as the words left his mouth the realization hit him; he finally understood what Kurt's deal was with the girls.

Worried, Blaine got up to sneak along the rows over to his boyfriend.

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><p><strong>Thank you for reading! :)<strong>

**Reviews?**


	30. For all the Klainers! :)

**Hello my dearest wonderful readers! ****Can I just say that I LOVE YOU ALL! :D**

**I just got the exciting news by the host of the 2013 Glee fanfic awards that I have been nominated enough times to be named a finalist for BEST MYSTERY FIC (No Regrets) and best mystery fic writer! I didn't even know there was such a thing! **

**I can't tell you how proud I am to hear this! I may have cried when I read the message. I feel like Kurt felt when he learned that he was a NYADA finalist! So happy! :D**

**Thank you all of you guys a million for VOTING for me and considering my story worthy an award! I can't tell you enough how much this means to me and it definitely encourages me to hurry up with my updates! Thank you so much for your support! :)**

**~ . ~**

**Curious as I am I have checked on my competition - the other finalists for the same category. **

**It looks like I am the ONLY KLAINE fanfic writer! I'm up against stories about Brittana, Finchel, Sam/Quinn and Sam/Mercedes.**

**I can't believe I am the only Klaine fanfic writer nominated for this! Wow! O.o**

**~ . ~**

**Apparently, voting will close for general categories on July 10 at 11:59 PM Eastern Time (East Coast USA). You can submit your votes by messaging this blog:**

**gleefanficawards2013*dot*tumblr*dot*com**

**Please vote for me! :)**

**I want to win this thing FOR ALL THE Klainers out there! Yay! :D**

**~ . ~**


	31. Our Day Will Come

**The Girls Versus Boys Performance II**

**Our Day Will Come**

Blaine made his way along the rows of seats to where his boyfriend was sitting all by himself after the girls had left and vanished backstage. He felt the eyes of the other groups on him as he passed the _Unitards_ and the _Warblers_ who had settled down in the audience after their own performances.

Kurt briefly looked up when Blaine sat down next to him, then he continued to stare straight ahead. It was obvious to Blaine that Kurt was sad about something.

"Hey," Blaine said softly, bumping his shoulder into Kurt's. "Shouldn't you be backstage with the girls getting ready for the performance?"

"I caught a cold," Kurt said hoarsely, faking a scratch in his throat.

Blaine watched him closely, but still Kurt refused to meet his eyes. "Kurt, you can't fool me. Your voice is perfectly fine. What's going on?"

Kurt swallowed hard. When he turned his eyes on Blaine they were moist with unshed tears.

"I just didn't fit into the performance," he said with the slightest shrug.

Blaine frowned, although this was what he had suspected. "What do you mean?"

"We tried," Kurt explained with a faint voice, "but it just didn't work. We couldn't figure out a choreography; it just didn't look right with one boy in an all girls group. We came up with a lot of ideas to try and make it work, but in the end we had to face the fact that I was screwing up their dynamic."

Without saying a word Blaine reached out and covered Kurt's hand with his own.

Kurt instantly interlaced their fingers, like holding on to a lifeline.

"And then last week when Sugar announced that she wanted to join the girls' team we had a big discussion," Kurt went on. "But in the end we decided that Sugar should replace me and she's really good, you know, with the dancing part anyway. Also, she paid for the fabrics we needed for the outfits. Not that I'm saying she bought her way in. She's a doll and she enjoys being part of the group so much."

"But so do you," Blaine reminded him, all of a sudden feeling angry with the girls.

"Yes, but I stepped back to let the girls do their thing. I'm okay with it, really. It's just..." Kurt let out a sigh. "At one point I realized that it was so stupid and silly of me to want to join the girls group to begin with. I felt so ashamed, you know, like one of those horrible moments when you realize that the reason everyone's been laughing at you all day long has been because you're wearing your shirt inside out and you feel so stupid for not noticing sooner."

Blaine started rubbing circles into the back of Kurt's hand with his thumb. "Don't feel stupid just because you felt more connected to the girls."

"You're right," Kurt agreed. "But the fact remains that I simply don't belong with them. What was I thinking?"

It broke Blaine's heart to see Kurt disillusioned and sad about the turnout of events.

"You could still join in with the boys," Blaine suggested.

"Last minute? And screw up _your_ choreography?" Kurt shook his head. "No, I've learned my lesson. I don't belong to the girls and I don't belong to the boys either. Sometimes being special means being lonely." Kurt let out a deep sigh. "Ah, well, the good thing is I don't have to share the spot light when I get to be on stage."

"Kurt..." Blaine began, wanting to tell him that he was anything but lonely, but Kurt wiped at his moist eyes and let out a hoarse laugh before he gave Blaine a valiantsmile. "I know it's silly to cry over this."

"No, it's not silly." Blaine squeezed his boyfriend's hand. "I bet you've had brilliant ideas for the performance and it sucks that you can't be part of the actual show when you've invested so much time and energy into it."

"I don't regret choosing to work with the girls," Kurt explained putting his free hand above their joined hands. "It was fun discussing outfit choices and song selections. Apparently I'm a great advisor. It made me think that maybe I should concentrate on working behind the scenes rather than performing myself. Perhaps I should reconsider my future plans."

"Kurt Hummel, you're not giving up on your dreams over this one performance!" Blaine chasisted him, his eyes wide with shock. "I want to sit in front row at your very first Broadway premiere and all the times after that, you hear me?"

"Thanks." Kurt tilted his head towards him and gifted him with the most beautiful melancholic smile.

"You'll do great at your NYADA audition, I just know it," Blaine said and they shared a long loving look before the music started to play and the lights were being dimmed.

"Oh, the girls are on!" Kurt said excitedly.

Rachel stepped forward into the spotlight, her voice carrying beautifully through the auditorium.

"Moon River, wider than a mile,  
>I'm crossing you in style some day.<br>Oh, dream maker, you heart breaker,  
>wherever you're going I'm going your way."<p>

Blaine leaned closer to Kurt. "That's from _Breakfast At Tiffany's_, right?"

"It is," Kurt confirmed, beaming. "Rachel, Mercedes and I have been watching that movie over and over again last weekend."

Mercedes joined Rachel in front and took over the lines,

"Two drifters off to see the world.  
>There's such a lot of world to see.<br>We're after the same rainbow's end-  
>waiting 'round the bend."<p>

Kurt snuggled closer to Blaine's side, their arms touching and their hands still clasped tightly, and a warm shiver went through Blaine. He was sure that Kurt and he were after the same rainbow's end, no matter what twists and turns their lives would take, they'd always have each other.

Next up was Santana, changing the dreamy tone into an airy and sexy one by launching into her favorite Amy Winehouse song.

"Our day will come  
>And we'll have everything<br>We'll share the joy  
>Falling in love can bring<p>

No one can tell me

That I'm too young to know

I love you so

And you love me"

Blaine glanced at Kurt and they shared another smitten look. Blaine raised their linked hands and kissed the back of Kurt's fingers. It was a promise. _Our day will come, Kurt, when we'll have everything we've ever dreamed of._

Brittany and Sugar did a little dance interlude and made their dresses swing, earning a lot of cheers from the boys in the audience. In the end all the girls joined their voices to sing,

"Our day will come

If we just wait a while

No tears for us

Think love and wear a smile!

Our dreams are meant to be

Because we'll always stay

In love this way

Our day will come"

During the whole girl's performance they were holding hands and Kurt was pointing with his free hand to get Blaine's attention to certain details of the dresses or the choreography. "Aren't they just amazing?" He was so proud of the girls.

At the end of the performance the girls gave their bows and Kurt got up and clapped like crazy and Blaine followed suit.

"It's your turn now," Kurt said, beaming at Blaine. "Good luck. You'll need it because the girls were stunning!"

"I don't care about the competition," Blaine confessed. "I'll be singing just for you, Kurt."

"You're such a cheesy dreamboat," Kurt laughed.

When Blaine made his way backstage to meet the guys he felt so sorry for Kurt, but at the same time he was proud that Kurt didn't wallow in resentment but was able to enjoy the girls performance.

As soon as he stepped around the corner Blaine was surrounded by the boys.

"What's with Kurt? Why didn't he perform?"

Blaine hesitated before he answered, "He's caught a cold."

"Really?" Finn frowned. "Last night he was fine. We had warm milk and a lady chat, uhm, I mean, guy talk."

"C'mon, B, what's the real reason Kurt wasn't on stage?" Puckerman asked, bumping a fist into Blaine's shoulder.

Blaine sighed. "He wouldn't perform because he's not a girl."

"WHAT? That's total bull...!" Puckerman was all agitated about this news.

Blaine raised a brow at him, remembering very well that Puckerman had been trash talking about Kurt's girliness just days ago.

"That's not fair," Finn agreed. "He's worked hard for this."

"Well, it's a girls versus boys competition," Artie pointed out. "And Sugar definitely looks better in a dress than Kurt would."

"Guys, we're on in a minute," Sam reminded them.

"Right," Finn said. "I hope you realize we're in trouble, because the girls were amazing! It won't be easy to beat them."

"I could show my abs," Sam suggested. "Girls love them."

"Don't worry about a thing," Mike said calmly. "We've got our best man singing solo. Blaine will have the audience wrapped around his little finger in a second."

"Listen, guys," Blaine said, worrying his lips with his teeth. "I appreciate all your faith in me, but I can't do all this by myself. If Kurt sees me singing solo when he didn't even get to be on stage… I just don't want him to feel bad."

"What do you need us to do?" Mike asked and the boys were all ears.

Blaine tapped his finger on his lips. "Rory, can you sing the first part of our medley?"

"Me?" Rory said all flustered. "I've never sung solo in front of an audience before."

"The Sinatra song was your idea," Blaine insisted. "And this 50s film musical thing is absolutely your style, and perhaps Finn could step in, too."

Within a minute the boys had re-arranged the vocals and Blaine felt way better doing this thing with all their different voices instead of just his own.

The boys gathered backstage, joining hands in the middle and wishing one another luck for the performance.

They heard Mr Schuester's voice from the stage. "And last but not least it's the New Directions boys!"

The audience applauded and the boys stepped on stage.

Slow music started playing and Rory stepped up front, the lights at him. Just like the other boys he wore a black suit with a white shirt and bowtie, looking absolutely stunning. His voice was smooth and pure sugar when he started to sing,

"Just in time

I found you just in time

Before you came my time was running low"

Finn joined him at his right side, casually snapping his fingers and putting all his charm into his voice,

"I was lost

The losing dice were tossed

My bridges all were crossed

No where to go"

As the third man in the front Blaine stepped next to Rory, taking over the lyrics and looking straight at Kurt who was still sitting in the front row.

"Now you're here

And now I know just where I'm going

No more doubt or fear

I've found my way"

The three of them joined their voices,

"You found me

Just in time

And changed my lonely life

That lucky day!"

The slow music changed into a rock and roll drum beat and Blaine did a fancy MJ move, standing on the tips of his toes for a second, and raised his voice to a yell,

"You Knock Me Off Of My Feet!"

Before the audience knew what hit them the sweet and fluffy sound changed into steaming hot and extremely sexy.

With a deep growl Finn sang,

"You Really Turn Me On!"

Rory smirked at the girls in the front, winking at them and giving them bedroom eyes,

"My Lonely Days Are Gone!"

The boys took turn in front, busting out the chorus to their favorite Michael Jackson song.

Puckerman sang the first lines in a sexy voice,

"Hey pretty baby with the high heels on  
>You give me fever like I've never, ever known"<p>

Artie took over,

"You're just a product of loveliness  
>I like the Groove of your walk, your talk, your dress!"<p>

The audience was amazed. They all stood up, dancing and clapping along; it was the reaction the boys had been hoping for. Nobody could sit still when a great MJ number was on.

Sam did his infamous body roll and let his hands wander down his body,

"I feel your fever from miles around  
>Just kiss me, baby, and tell me twice<br>That you're the one for me!"

All boys sang the chorus again, but Blaine made sure that he kept eye contact with Kurt all during the performance, and Kurt was beaming at him which gave Blaine a blast.

"I never felt so in love before  
>Just promise, baby, you'll love me forevermore<br>I swear I'm keepin' you satisfied  
>'Cause you're the one for me!"<p>

The performance endet with a slow beat, Blaine was up front, snapping his fingers and putting his smooth Sinatra voice back on, but mixed with MJ lines,

"The way you make me feel  
>My lonely days are gone<p>

You found me  
>Just in time."<p>

The crowd went nuts and applauded and cheered wildly. The boys took their bows and left backstage.

"The girls were swooning over us," Mike said with a joyful laugh, draping an arm around Blaine's shoulders, "swooning, I tell ya!"

"Wow, this was fun!" Sam said, who somewhere during the performance lost his blazer and some of his shirt buttons and Blaine had to force himself to look the other way and not stare at that half bare chest and one visible nipple.

"Uh, there comes Harmony from the _Unitards_," Artie said, sitting up straight. "Everybody look cool."

Instantly the boys played down their excitement and met Harmony with _We Know We're Cool_ attitudes.

Harmony was beaming from ear to ear, "I just have to tell you guys you were absolutely breathtaking! Literally! I don't believe in boy groups, but you really had me with Sinatra, and the MJ mix was genius. You definitely have my vote! Is anyone of you single?"

"Girl, today is your lucky day," Puckerman said, stepping forward and offering his arm to her all gentleman-like. "May I show you around our auditorium?"

Harmony linked arms with him and got all flustered, "Hi, I'm Harmony! What's your name? What are your credits? What happened to your hair? You don't look like someone who'd do show choir. I live for show choir competition..."

Kurt found his way backstage and before Blaine knew what hit him he was engulfed in a hug. Blaine spread his hands on Kurt's back and squeezed him tightly, enjoying to hold him close.

"Oh, my God, you were amazing!" Kurt said, not letting go of Blaine. "I just can't ever get enough of watching you perform, Blaine!"

"I hate to say it but I have to agree with Kurt," a voice came from behind and Blaine turned around to face Sebastian with a frown, waiting for the punch line.

"You did a great job up on that stage, Anderson," Sebastian continued. "All of you, actually." He nodded at the other ND boys in appreciation. "Not bad at all for a public school."

"Thanks," Finn said, stepping forward. "You guys were pretty good, too. For a prep school."

There was a weird tension between them and for a long moment Finn and Sebastian were sizing each other up as if setting the ground rules.

"Whatever." Sebastian backed off. "See you around, I guess."

Blaine didn't realize he was clutching Kurt's hand tightly until Kurt gently freed himself out of the firm grasp.

"It's all right," Kurt whispered to him and Blaine let out the breath he was holding. After all the trouble with Sebastian he was still waiting for something bad to happen. He just didn't trust that guy to back off this easily.

Mr Schuester and Ms Pillsbury collected the votes and after ten minutes they were ready to announce the winner. The four groups gathered on stage and awaited the word excitedly.

Ms Pillsbury started by saying that there were no losers because everyone was a winner and nobody should feel less than perfect. But since it was a competition a winner had to be called.

"And the winner is..." Mr Schuester made a drum roll on his thighs. "The ND boys! Congratulations, guys! You won by a third of all votes! You totally crushed the other teams!"

"Yay!" Ms Pillsbury clapped her hands.

"Let's go to _Breadstix_!" Puckerman said with a big grin. "Ladies, it's pay-day! And I feel _very_ hungry tonight!"

They all shook hands with the _Unitards_ and the _Warblers_, thanking them for the participation and asking them to come along to _Breadstix_ where the ND girls would have to pay for the ND boys.

Blaine was about to move along with the group when he felt a tug on his sleeve. It was Kurt, silently asking him to stay behind.

"Would you mind going ahead? I'll meet you at _Breadstix_ in half an hour, all right?"

Blaine furrowed his brows questioningly, but nodded anyway. "Okay. See you there." Kurt flashed him a relieved smile and vanished backstage, making Blaine wonder what he was up to. He felt a little sting that obviously Kurt had secrets from him.

Blaine quickened his pace to catch up with the group when suddenly he heard footsteps behind him; someone was running after him. Thinking it was Kurt again he slowed down and turned around, just to find it was Mike.

"Hey!" Mike took hold of Blaine's elbow. "Where are you going?"

"To _Breadstix_," Blaine replied, bewildered. Wasn't it obvious? "Like everybody else."

They shared a confused look. Then comprehension dawned on Mike's expression.

"Come with me," Mike said, shaking his head and motioning for Blaine to follow him upstairs to where usually the stagehands were setting up the lights. "You have to stay to see this."

"See what?" Blaine asked, still puzzled, but following his friend up the narrow stairway.

"Kurt, of course," Mike replied. "He asked me to help out with the lights and Tina's in charge of the music backstage."

"What for?" Blaine asked. A weird feeling spread out inside of Blaine, wondering what this was all about. He stood next to Mike who was handling the big stagelights and pointing them to a spot in the middle of the empty stage.

Looking down Blaine noticed that Rachel and Mercedes were still around, sitting in the front row.

"What's going on, Mike?" Blaine inquired, his eyes focused on the middle of the stage below to where the single light was pointing.

Mike leaned closer to Blaine in a confidential manner, although nobody could see or overhear them up there. "Kurt wants to use the stage to rehearse his piece for the final NYADA audition."

"Oh." Blaine couldn't hide his frustration. Kurt wasn't obligated to tell him about everything, of course, but still it made Blaine wonder why he was being left out.

"Hey, don't be mad with Kurt for not telling you," Mike said, clearly reading his mind. "I guess he didn't want you to see his performance just yet."

"But he has asked his friends to see him," Blaine said woefully, waving his hands at the girls down in the front row.

"Exactly," Mike replied, giving Blaine a nudge with his ellbow. "You're more than just a friend to him, Blaine. You're his _boyfriend_."

Mike said it as if this was the answer to everything. Still, Blaine didn't get what Mike was trying to tell him.

"Shouldn't I be the person he turns to first?"

"Okay," Mike went on when he noticed that Blaine was having trouble following his train of thought, "here's a thing you need to know about Kurt."

Blaine widened his eyes at that, this time not even trying to hide his bafflement. He knew for a fact that Mike and Kurt weren't close buddies and he hadn't expected Mike to be able to teach him a lesson about how Kurt's mind was working. For a second he even felt offended that Mike was implying that Blaine didn't know his boyfriend.

As much as Blaine liked talking to Mike about his insecurities and problems and didn't even mind using him as a relationship advisor Blaine didn't like to be reminded that there were people who knew Kurt better than he did.

"I'm listening," Blaine said in a clipped tone.

"Kurt's a perfectionist," Mike declared, either not noticing or choosing to ignore Blaine's annoyance.

"Duh! I know _that_," Blaine replied with a huff.

"All right," Mike amended. "Then I'm sure you know that Kurt gets overly anxious and even superstitious before a performance? And that he's very protective about his feelings? He's doing everything not to become vulnerable. When he's giving a performance he is presenting a part of his soul to the world. For Kurt a performance has to be perfect, it has to show exactly what he wants the world to see, what he is willing to show from himself, and nothing more or less."

For a moment Blaine stared at his friend, speechless. "How do you know _that_? Are you psychic?"

Mike chuckled. "No, but I've been in glee club with him for quite a long time. Also, I helped him with his _Le Jazz Hot_ performance which pretty much was a duet with _himself_ at a time when he had to face the fact that he was different. During rehearsal for _Le Jazz Hot_ I got to know the eager and the vulnerable side of him. The thing is, Kurt is _amazing_ in whatever he's doing, but it doesn't come easy to him. He's working hard on being the best he can be and he doesn't want to embarrass himself in front of his loved ones. Keep that in mind when you're asking yourself why he wouldn't want _you_ to see his rehearsal."

"There he is," Mike whispered and their attention shifted to the stage below.

The first thing Blaine noticed was that Kurt was beautiful. He was all alone on stage in the spotlight and when Kurt started to sing Blaine forgot about everything.

Kurt had the most powerful sad singing voice that Blaine had ever witnessed and hearing him sing made Blaine want to run to him and kiss and hug him. It was like an elastic was tied around Blaine's heart and with each word Kurt sang he pulled the band tighter, making it impossible to breathe.

"Baby cried the day the circus came to town  
>'cause she didn't want parades just passing by her<br>She painted on a smile and took up with some clown  
>While she danced without a net upon the wire<p>

I know a lot about her 'cause, you see  
>Baby is an awful lot like me<p>

Don't cry out loud!  
>Just keep it inside, learn how to hide your feelings<br>Fly high and proud  
>And if you should fall, remember you almost had it all."<p>

Kurt sang the chorus with such a clear and strong voice that it carried up to where Mike and Blaine were watching, causing them goosebumps.

The music changed into a faster disco beat which Blaine immediately recognized as a Lady Gaga song.

"She looks good  
>But her boyfriend says she's a mess<br>She's a mess

Baby loves to dance in the dark  
>'Cuz when he's lookin'<br>She falls apart

Some girls won't dance to the beat of the track  
>She won't walk away<br>But she won't look back

Find your freedom in the music  
>You will never fall apart<br>Diana, you're still in our hearts  
>Never let you fall apart<br>Together we'll dance in the dark"

Listening to Kurt's song Blaine felt a worry overwhelm him. It was a strange choice of mash-up. While the songs were great they were also very sad. Was this how Kurt truly felt? Like he was living in the shadow? Like he had to hide his true feelings?

"Baby saw that when they pulled that big top down  
>They left behind her dreams among the litter<br>The different kind of love she thought she'd found  
>There was nothin' left but sawdust and some glitter<p>

Don't cry out loud!  
>Just keep it inside and learn how to hide your feelings<br>Fly high and proud  
>And if you should fall, remember you almost made it<p>

Baby loves to dance in the dark  
>'Cause when he's looking<br>She falls apart."

When the music ended Kurt took a deep bow and the girls applauded him. Kurt sat down onstage, letting his legs dangle off the edge, and talked to Rachel and Mercedes who were giving him feedback on his performance. Tina appeared from backstage where she had been in charge of the music and sat down next to him.

Blaine followed Mike down again to join Kurt and the girls. He felt a warmth spread inside of him at the sight of Kurt surrounded by his friends. Kurt seemed at ease and happy at hearing their praise and constructive critics.

Kurt looked up when Mike approached them and smiled at him. "Thanks, Mike, I owe you..." Kurt stopped midsentence and his eyes widened in shock when he saw Blaine coming along with Mike.

"Blaine..." Kurt got up to his feet and seemed nervous, flustered even and kind of guilty.

Blaine managed a smile. "You were simply amazing, Kurt."

"Thanks," Kurt said, wringing his hands. Then he turned to his friends. "Guys, would you mind going ahead? We'll meet you at _Breadstix_, all right?"

"Sure." Mike took his girlfriend's hand and together with Rachel and Mercedes they left the auditorium, leaving Kurt and Blaine alone.

Kurt shuffled closer to his boyfriend and scrunched up his face. "Look, I'm sorry, Blaine, for not asking you to..."

"It's okay," Blaine said quickly, taking Kurt's hands into his own to calm him. "You don't have to explain. But I'm glad Mike held me back and let me see you, because you were amazing and you'll kick ass at the audition."

Kurt bowed his head with a smile. "Thanks. There are still some parts I need to work on, but I guess I did well." He looked up again to meet Blaine's eyes. "I want you to be with me at the actual audition, Blaine. I want you to see me when I'm at my best."

Blaine let out a cute laugh and smiled coyly at his boyfriend. "You are my star, Kurt! Even when you're at your worst. Apparently I'm not doing a good job at letting you know how much I believe in you. But I promise I'll do better in the future."

Kurt smiled gratefully, biting down on his lips.

"So, this song..." Blaine asked, concerned. "Is this how you feel?"

Kurt shrugged and admitted, "Sometimes."

Blaine nodded slowly, contemplating. "You mean like at those times when it was _Blaine and the pips_?"

"Yeah, like that," Kurt said honestly. "Don't get me wrong. I'm proud of you and how successful you are with everything you do. I just…" he broke off with a sigh.

"You don't want to stand in the back," Blaine finished for him. "You want to be _seen_ and _heard_ as well. But most of the time the world ignores you, because it doesn't understand you."

Kurt tilted his head with a thin smile. "Yes, like that."

Blaine let go of Kurt's hands to gently cup his face and draw him near, kissing him. Kurt's eyes fluttered closed and he returned the pressure on Blaine's mouth, his hands taking hold of Blaine's upper arms.

"I see you, Kurt," Blaine murmured against Kurt's lips, before capturing them for another soft kiss. "I hear you."

* * *

><p><strong>Songs in this chapter: <strong>

**Moon River – Audrey Hepburn (Breakfast at Tiffany's)**

**Our day will come – Amy Winehouse**

**Just in time – Frank Sinatra **

**The way you make me feel – Michael Jackson**

**Don't cry out loud – Peter Allen (The Boy From Oz - Musical)**

**Dance in the dark – Lady Gaga**

* * *

><p><strong>All right, everyone, I still have a few ideas to keep this story going. <strong>

**x A sleepover (Kurt staying overnight at Blaine's)! **

**x One last confrontation with Sebastian!**

**x We get to see Tiffy the cat again! **

**x Aaand Kurt and Blaine will be guests on Brittany's Fondue For Two!**

**Please stay with me! :)**

**Reviews?**


	32. Hungry Eyes

**Hi my lovely readers! **

**Finally the winners of the Glee Fan Fic Awards 2013 have been announced! Sadly, I didn't get to win Best Mystery Fic and Best Mystery Fic writer, but still, thanks a million for all of your votes! The nomination means a lot to me. :D**

**There are only a few more chapters left of **_**Man In The Mirror**_**. I can't believe I'm coming to an end with one of my stories! I tend to be unable to finish my stories, because I'd miss writing them. But everything has come to an end, I guess. And a happy end it will be, I promise. :)**

**As always hugs and kisses to my lovely friend and beta, **_**normallyweirdm.**_** I couldn't do this without you. **

**And thanks again to you, my readers! Your reviews keep me going and it's always fun to chat with you! **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 31 - Hungry Eyes<strong>

Slowly but surely Blaine was starting to freak out.

Everything had to be perfect!

Because Kurt deserved everything to be perfect.

But then again Blaine hoped that Kurt would be too nervous to notice things like the napkins not folded as neatly as Blaine would have wanted them to be because his hands were trembling with excitement and anticipation. Oh, God, Kurt was coming over. And he would stay overnight!

It was Saturday night. The group gathering at _Breadstix_ after the competition had been fun, even with Sebastian around – Blaine had just totally ignored him and chatted happily with his Warbler friends while Kurt, Rachel and Harmony from the _Unitards_ had immersed in a passionate discussion about devotion and destiny and one's calling.

It hadn't been a romantic dinner at _Breadstix_, but now, a couple of hours later at Blaine's house, it was supposed to be romantic. There would be just the two of them tonight, because his mother was staying at her sister Eleanor's for the weekend to be comforted in her heartbreak – as Blaine had pointed out to Kurt several times.

When they had left the diner Kurt had told him he'd like to come over and have some _dessert_ and stay the night. If Blaine didn't mind, of course. Internally Blaine had been freaking out about the idea of a sleepover and all he had been able to answer was a breathy, "Okay."

This was it. This was the night they would do more than just messing around; this was the night Blaine would lose his virginity – and Kurt his. Blaine was too excited to be imagining any details yet; he felt confident that the _how_ and _what_ would come to them naturally.

Blaine smoothed over the napkins on the dinner table once more and then went to check the oven for the strawberry soufflé – Kurt's favorite.

His cat Tiffany watched him from her position on the window sill and if cats could raise eyebrows in a judgmental way her look would be exactly that.

Blaine was humming along to Bryan Ferry's _Slave to Love_, but then he remembered the last time he'd listened to Roxy Music and Kurt didn't seem very impressed. Unfortunately, Blaine didn't own a record of Sting. But he needed something romantic, something to melt away...

As Blaine moved across the room to the stereo – changing the music for the third time this night – Tiffy's gaze followed him as if saying, _What's all the fuss about? Are you expecting the Queen? Not that I'd give a rat's ass._

He skimmed through his mother's CD collection since he knew that her taste in movies and music was quite similar to Kurt's and there he found a real treasure. Something hot yet romantic and definitely timeless: Dirty Dancing soundtrack. He read through the song list and yes, he could so imagine kissing Kurt with songs like _These Arms Of Mine _or _Hungry_ _Eyes_ playing in the background.

He put the record on shuffle and when the first song started he instantly felt the tug of dancing fever and excitement.

"Wastin' a day  
>I'm just runnin' away<br>From a heart that's burnin'  
>But I can't run forever"<p>

He started dancing around the room and sang along loudly; jumping on the couch, playing the air-guitar and singing into an imaginary mick.

YES!  
>We're gonna fall in love<br>And it feels so right

YES!  
>We're gonna make love<br>It's gonna be tonight

I can just imagine  
>Huggin' and teasin' and<br>Lovin' and squeezin' all night

I've made up my mind  
>Just he's gonna be mine<br>I'm so glad I waited, woh-ooh  
>I can't wait to tell him<p>

He couldn't wait for Kurt to arrive. He was so happy he was about to burst. After all they had gone through the last couple of days Kurt deserved all the love and attention Blaine was able to give and that was a lot.

YES!  
>We're gonna fall in love<br>And it feels so right

YES!  
>We're gonna make love<br>It's gonna be tonight

I can just imagine  
>Huggin' and teasin' and<br>Lovin' and squeezin' all night  
>Oooh, yes!"<p>

It was just when he accidentally bumped into the table that he stopped dancing like an idiot.

"What do you think, Tiff?" Blaine asked his cat. He was now standing in the middle of the salon and scrutinizingly looking over the setting of the dinner table.

"Is anything missing? Oh, I need to light the candles! It looks nicer if they are already burning, right? Or should I wait? If they are burned down too much already it looks like I light them on any stupid occasion. But this has to be special!"

Blaine hurried back into the kitchen to gaze into the oven again. This time Tiffany followed him and stopped in front of her empty bowl.

"I didn't forget about you," Blaine told her with a smile and opened a box of dry food for cats. "No tuna for you tonight, girl. Kurt hates the smell of it." He filled up the bowl and watched the way Tiffany sniffed and backed off with clear disappointment as if saying, _Stop kidding, big boy, now give me my _real_ food!_

"By the way, I'm afraid you'll have to find another place to sleep tonight," Blaine told his cat. "I don't think Kurt would like to share the bed with both of us – and better me than you."

Tiffany sneezed and it sounded just like a snort. Blaine laughed at that. "Don't be mad at me, Tiffy! Come on, when was the last time Kurt was over?"

The doorbell rang.

Blaine looked up, freezing on the spot. That was Kurt. Already?

Blaine checked the clock on the wall. Kurt was half an hour early!

"Coming!" Blaine called out and took a quick look around the place – everything was as perfect as he could manage at short notice! – before running into the entryway and stopping in front of the mirror for one last check.

His hair was ungelled like Kurt had confessed he liked it to be when they were messing around, but neatly kempt. He had put on a short sleeved black shirt and his favorite red bow tie and squeezed into a pair of tight blue jeans which hopefully he'd be able to take off soon again. Apparently he had gained some weight since the last time he'd worn the pants and they were too tight for his liking. Especially considering that he needed his lower parts to be functional tonight.

He found that he looked his best and hopefully pleasing to Kurt.

Wetting his lips with his tongue, Blaine yanked the door open, calling out happily, "You're early!"

Blaine froze, his smile fading from his face.

It wasn't Kurt standing outside on the porch.

Instead it was a tall slender guy wearing a blue polo shirt and a casual smile.

"Yeah, well, I couldn't wait to see you again," Sebastian purred, looking Blaine up and down, before adding in a flirty tone, "Well, hello there, Blaine Hottie Anderson!" Sebastian stretched the words out slowly, his brandmarked filthy grin appearing on his features.

Blaine was paralyzed by seeing him. Later he would wish he had just slammed the door into the Warbler's face, but right in this moment Blaine was caught off guard.

Sebastian used his moment of bafflement to step into the house uninvitedly. "I thought I'd drop by and we share this bottle." Sebastian held up a bottle of red wine. "It's my apology gift to you. Also a congratulation gift for winning the competition."

"Get out, Sebastian!" Blaine growled, but the intruder was already in the kitchen, opening the bottle and looking around the cupboards for flutes.

"Don't worry," Sebastian said nonchalantly. "I know you'll have Kurt over. Maybe he wants a nice glass of wine, too. We can kiss and make up and have a threesome if you like."

"Get out, now!" Blaine insisted. "I don't want Kurt to see you here!"

"Relax, tiger. I'm here to apologize. To the both of you actually, so I'd like to wait for Kurt to join us. I promise I'll be on my way once I told Kurt how sorry I am for my behavoir the last couple of weeks."

Blaine eyed Sebastian warily. Usually he wasn't one to deny forgiveness if someone truthfully apologized to him. It was different with Sebastian, though.

"I don't trust you."

Sebastian let out a sigh of frustration. "I know. That's why I'm here. Look, Blaine, I acted out of line. I'm truly sorry and even if you don't accept my apology at least I said it. I won't bother you anymore. Now, let's clink glasses. The bottle's already open. It would be a waste not to try some."

Blaine still had his brows furrowed distrustfully. "I don't drink alcohol."

Sebastian gave him a lopsided smile. "Please, there's hardly any alcohol in it. It's like lemonade."

Sebastian held out a glass for Blaine to take it. "Here's to becoming friends?"

"You're on probation," Blaine said strictly, accepting the glass.

Sebastian lowered his head, smiling. "I deserve that. All right, let's try being friends with me on probation."

They clinked glasses and Blaine took a sip. The wine wasn't really his taste, but it wasn't bad either. Also, it didn't taste a lot like alcohol, not the way beer did. His mother liked to drink wine and she never got tipsy from it, so he figured he could take a few more sips.

The next twenty minutes they talked about the girls versus boys competition and how much fun it had been and Blaine was surprised that Sebastian could be nice and funny for a change and not sleazy and suggestive like he usually acted around Blaine.

Still, Blaine remained wary and he didn't like the idea of surprising Kurt with Sebastian's presence. He sent his boyfriend a text preparing him for the uninvited guest.

_Are you serious? Kick him out! - K_

Blaine scrunched up his face when he read Kurt's reply. He wrote back quickly, letting Kurt know that Sebastian just wanted to apologize to them.

_And I want to rule England. Unlikely to happen. - K_

Blaine let out a sigh. Kurt was right. It was unlikely that Sebastian was serious about his intentions. But what else was going on in that Warbler's head?

"Let me warn you," Blaine said, downing his second – or was it the third? – glass of wine. Sebastian had kept refilling his glass and he had failed to stop him. Admittedly, the wine was quite tasty after a few sips. What was he just saying?

"Yes?" Sebastian prompted with a smirk.

"Uhm... oh yeah!" Blaine sat up straight on the stool. "I was saying that if you're here to be mean to Kurt I'm going to kick your ass so hard you'll land on the moon!"

Sebastian's smile grew wider at that. "Sounds intriguing. I'd love me a free journey to the moon; check out the guy that lives there."

"Very funny," Blaine growled.

"What's for dinner, by the way?" Sebastian asked casually, pointing with his thumb to the oven.

"Shit!" Blaine cursed loudly. He'd totally forgotten about his soufflé. "I have to... woahh!"

He jumped to his feet, but the movement was too fast and sent his head swimming with dizziness. He had to grab the stool for support. "Gee, what's wrong with me?"

"Easy, tiger!" Instantly Sebastian was up and by his side. "I guess you'd had a little too much to drink. Let me help you to lie down on the couch."

"Let go of me!" Blaine slurred and tried to shake Sebastian's hands off of him, but he couldn't control his own limbs anymore. The room was spinning around him.

"Oh, my dear stupid friend," Sebastian cooed and guided Blaine to the couch. "One gets drunk way faster on red wine than on beer. Especially when you're inexperienced with alcohol. Didn't you know that?"

"You tricked me!" Blaine revolted. He was about to jump off the couch again, but his head felt like it was about to explode and he had to lay down again, one arm draped over his face. "Ohhh," he groaned, feeling sick to the stomach.

"Let me help you getting comfortable," Sebastian said with a chuckle and the last thing Blaine registered before he passed out was Sebastian's hands on him, unbuttoning his shirt. Blaine tried to stop him, but he was too out of it to fight him off.

"Kurt's going to kill you..." Blaine murmured, slowly drifting to unconsciousness.

* * *

><p>Blaine woke up with a nasty pounding in his head, his throat dry and rough, his eyelids heavy. With a sigh he slowly sat up and noticed an Advil on his nightstand. Someone had put it there on a saucer next to a small bottle of water, knowing he'd wake up with a headache.<p>

Blaine took the pill and swallowed it with a swig of water, he drank thirstily.

Lazily, he turned around to face the window while his eyes were adjusting to the lack of lighting inside his bedroom. He yawned a little and suddenly realized that he wasn't alone.

There was a loud purring sound that came from the other side of the bed.

He turned around and almost jumped at the sight of someone lying in his bed. It was Kurt, sleeping with one arm curled around Tiffany. The cat stretched her long body alongside Kurt's, blinking at Blaine as if mocking him, _Who's the one waking up in Kurt's arms now, huh?_

This had to be a dream. Kurt in his bed. With Tiffy. Peacefully? What did he miss?

He tried to remember what happened last night but his head was still foggy and he couldn't put pieces together yet. He had been waiting for Kurt to come over, but he couldn't remember him arriving. How come that he had a total blackout?

Blaine studied Kurt's face, the curve of his jaw, the smoothness of his cheeks. He looked so beautiful that Blaine couldn't help staring at him.

Had they...? Surely Blaine would remember if they had done _it_, right?

He noticed that Kurt was wearing a pair of Blaine's pajamas. Blaine looked down at himself; he was wearing a button-down pajamas as well.

Quietly he reached for his phone on his nightstand and switched to camera, taking a picture of Kurt with Tiffany, without any proof he'd think later that he'd only dreamed this.

"You didn't just take a picture of me sleeping, did you?" Kurt murmured with his eyes still closed and a smile curling up his lips.

Blaine grinned and lay on his stomach, close to his boyfriend. "Nope. Apparently I took a pic of you _pretending_ to be asleep."

"Glad to hear you're still so witty when you're hungover." The grin spread wider on Kurt's face and he cracked an eye to squint at Blaine.

"What happened last night?" Blaine asked guiltily. "I have a total blackout. I can't even remember changing into my pajamas."

"You mean you don't remember drinking and spending half the night hugging the toilet with me rubbing your back?" Kurt raised a brow and moved to prop up on his elbows.

Blaine scrunched up his face. "I did?"

Kurt nodded. "You did."

Blaine appreciated that Kurt talked in a quiet gentle voice, acknowledging his headache.

"Don't worry," Kurt smiled cheekily. "I'll remember for both of us."

"I'm so sorry," Blaine replied, still trying to remember a thing but it was all a blur.

"The most difficult part had been to get you into your pajamas," Kurt said with a loving smile. "Then again at least those were the hottest few minutes of the night."

Blaine put up a confused face and Kurt chuckled. "Don't worry, I didn't ravish you. I just took the liberty to admire my property." He winked at him, but Blaine looked even more confused.

"You really don't remember a thing?" Kurt asked, now a little bit concerned. "I mean, you've had some wake moments."

"No, I just..." Suddenly memory hit Blaine like a brick. "Oh, my God, Sebastian was here," Blaine looked at Kurt with pure horror in his eyes. "What did he do to me?"

"What do you think he did when you passed out in front of him?" Kurt chastised him.

Suddenly Blaine felt sick to his stomach and he sat up with dread. He clenched a hand into his pajamas top and tried to remember any dirty deeds of Sebastian. "Did he...?"

Instantly Kurt sat up with him, noticing his fright. "Don't worry, honey, he just played a prank on you," Kurt assured him, putting an arm around his shoulders. "I was there in time to prevent him from doing other things."

Kurt was smiling at him and stroking his face, tracing lines with his fingers over Blaine's lips and up his cheeks. "I have to take good care of you now that you're officially mine."

Blaine squinted his eyes, puzzled. „Did he tell you that he's backing off? That he finally accepts that we're an item?"

Kurt pursed his lips in amusement. „He didn't _tell_ me exactly," he stated with a grin. „But he made his defeat pretty clear. You'll see."

Blaine looked down at his hands, ashamed. "I never should have drank with him or let him into the house."

Kurt leaned forward and kissed his cheek. "Someone's learned his lesson."

"Did he bother you?" Blaine asked. He would face the fact that he had been stupid enough to let Sebastian play his games with him. But he couldn't stand it if Sebastian had taken the opportunity to make fun of Kurt, too.

"Nope," Kurt answered, hugging one of his knees to his chest. "Actually, we had a good laugh."

Blaine raised his brows inquiringly at that.

"Don't get me wrong," Kurt elaborated with a smirk. "I was furious when he opened the door for me and I found you on the couch unconscious. My knee may have collided with Sebastian's groins. He was curled up on the floor for half an hour, whining and grunting in pain. Those are noises I enjoyed coming from him. After that, we talked and it was quite fun actually."

"You talked with him?" Blaine asked, baffled.

"Come on, you were sleeping on the couch, I was bored and it was quite interesting to hear Sebastian admit that he'd given up."

"He did?"

"Yeah, he confessed all the creepy stalker stuff he did to you and said that he had been intrigued, because you resisted him so persistently. In the end he had to admit that your heart belonged to me, thus his prank on you, which he promised was his very last. He wanted to spoil our night together and had succeeded. He was a confident little meerkat in the end."

"What prank on me?" Blaine asked, still confused. "You mean, getting me wasted?"

Kurt just grinned and the corners of his eyes crinkled. Blaine loved this big smile, although he didn't know the meaning of it yet.

"What?" Blaine inquired. "What did he do to me?"

Kurt just continued to grin at him in that cute way. "Just take a look into the mirror, my sweet lovefool."

Curious, Blaine got out of bed and walked over into his bathroom. He stared at the man in the mirror and broke out into a wide grin.

Sebastian had written LOVEFOOL on Blaine's forehead with a black pen. Also, he had painted him a thick mustache with curly endings on his cheeks.

Kurt came to him, sneaking behind him and resting his chin on Blaine's shoulder. "I like this one best," he murmured and reached around Blaine to unbutton his pajamas top.

Blaine let out a loud laugh when he saw that there was more writing across his chest and stomach:

PROPERTY OF KURT HUMMEL!

Also, there was a flower around his belly button.

"I drew the flower," Kurt said, stroking Blaine's stomach and putting a finger on his navel.

Blaine turned around in Kurt's embrace and moved to kiss him, but Kurt leaned away and pulled a face. "You need to brush your teeth, please. You didn't last night after you've puked your guts out."

"I'm so sorry that you had to see me like that..."

"Sebastian helped me to get you upstairs, but the motion was too much for you and you ended up puking in the bathroom. That was the moment Sebastian bid his goodbye, leaving me to take care of you."

"Again, I'm so sorry!" Blaine felt like Kurt deserved a million apologies for the last night.

"How about you brush your teeth, take a shower and I prepare breakfast?" Kurt suggested.

"But you're my guest," Blaine argued. "I should make breakfast."

Kurt scrunched up his nose. "You really need the shower, love. Let me make breakfast."

Blaine nodded in agreement and smiled as he watched Kurt leave the bathroom. Kurt gave him the cutest smile on his way out.

In the shower Blaine tried to get the black sharpie off his skin, but it was no use. It would take several showers to get rid of the words sticking on him. Not that he minded what was written on his chest.

After he'd showered Blaine put on his white bathrobe and returned to his bedroom. Kurt was waiting for him in bed with a tray of toast, honey and steaming coffee.

"How are you feeling now?" Kurt asked when Blaine crawled onto the bed beside him.

"Much better." Blaine let out a content sigh. "Still sleepy, but happy and hungry. Hungry for you..."

Kurt chuckled at that and then asked with a low voice, "When's your mother coming home?"

"Late tonight."

"So we have all Sunday for ourselves?"

"Oh, yes!" With a grin Blaine climbed on top of his boyfriend and kissed him square on the mouth. "Mwah! This is number one of a thousand of kisses I'm going to give you today," Blaine promised.

"Okay, I'll keep count," Kurt breathed, and while they were kissing his hands slipped beneath the robe, sliding over his boyfriend's shoulders, tracing Blaine's shoulder blades and down his back. When his hands reached Blaine's waist and buttocks, Kurt froze. "Blaine, aren't you wearing underwear?"

"Do I need to?" Blaine asked with a cheeky smile.

Intrigued, Kurt pushed Blaine back on the mattress and opened the robe to take a look at his boyfriend. Blaine felt exposed under Kurt's gaze since they had never seen one another fully naked before. At the same time it was exciting and he felt heat rushing into his loins as well as his cheeks from the way Kurt took in Blaine's now fully aroused body.

Kurt's right hand touched Blaine's chest, with his fingers spread out wide and his palm pressed onto his skin, trailing downward to caress Blaine's stomach and his thighs.

"You're so beautiful," Kurt murmured and leaned down to kiss Blaine's pelvis while his hand was brushing down the length of his hardness.

Blaine shuddered and his hands moved to capture Kurt's head and pull him up. Blaine kissed him hard and passionately, and his fingers started fumbling with the buttons of Kurt's pajamas. "Kurt, I love you," Blaine said while attacking his boyfriend's face with kisses. "I'm all yours, Kurt, and I promise I'll make it up to you for last night. I'm gonna make love to you all day long..."

"Sounds good," Kurt murmured into his ear, leaving a trail of open-mouthed kisses on Blaine's jaw and neck as well.

Blaine moved to kiss the side of Kurt's neck, but Kurt shoved him off with a giggle. "No, no, no! Not my neck please, I'm sick of wearing turtle necks all the time. Could you place your hickeys elsewhere? I got other delicious body parts, too, you know?"

Blaine chuckled. "Like where?"

"How about... ?" Kurt opened the last few buttons of his shirt and presented his stomach.

Blaine giggled instantly. Kurt had some words written on him, too.

KISS ME HERE!

And an arrow pointing downwards.

"If you insist," Blaine stated drily, but cracking a grin, his hands pulling eagerly on the waistband of Kurt's pajamas. But then he stopped short, a frown appearing on his forehead.

"You wrote that yourself, didn't you?"

Kurt let out a loud laugh. "You think I'd let Sebastian write on me?"

"Right, sorry," Blaine said quickly. He tried to proceed with his kissing, but now Kurt was giggling so hard that he was rolling around on the mattress.

"Kurt, honey, stop laughing, I want to kiss you," Blaine tried to calm his boyfriend down, but every time Kurt looked up at him he started to shake anew with laughter. "Your mustache," Kurt wheezed out. "You look so stupid and so cute at the same time."

"How about _hot?"_ Blaine tried.

"Nope," Kurt giggled into the pillow and held his aching stomach.

"Okay, you go on laughing, I'll have some coffee." Blaine moved to the edge of the bed and casually shrugged out of his bathrobe. He let it fall to the ground and reached out for his mug. Buck naked he repositioned himself on the bed, resting on one elbow and taking a sip.

Instantly Kurt's giggling died. He sat up and looked at his boyfriend, biting down on his lips hungrily. "Oh, God, I didn't know you were such a tease!" Kurt said with a smile. "Put that stupid mug away and come over here, Blaine."

"If you insist," Blaine replied with a cocky grin.

"I insist," Kurt said opening his arms wide to welcome him into his embrace.

* * *

><p><strong>Songs in this chapter:<strong>

**Merry Clayton – Yes **

**Thanks a million for all of your reviews and your support! I love love love hearing your thoughts, so please always keep your reviews coming my way! **

**Please check out my other stories as well. I'm about to finish up **_**No Regrets**_** by the end of this year. And **_**Trust Is A Flexible Word**_** is my new baby for now. Don't be discouraged to read them because of the M-rating. I always rate my stories M to be safe, but they really aren't. ;)**


	33. Fondue For Two

**Hello my dear readers! This is the last chapter of Man in the Mirror! I absolutely loved writing this story. It was a like a fun ride on a roller coaster, I never knew where Blaine would take me. I think there's a lot of angst in this story, but also a lot of fun and fluffy parts. Thanks for being on this roller coaster ride with me. I loved all of your comments and I hope you like this last chapter. :)**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 32 - Fondue For Two<strong>

**A few months later: **

"Hello and welcome to another issue of Fondue For Two," Brittany said while twirling around in front of her camera. Her hair was loose and curly, making her look very girly as it cascaded over her pink waterfall top that was matched with a long rainbow colored skirt.

"My guests today are Blaine Warbler and Lady Hummel who have some exciting news to share," Brittany introduced her guests.

"Thanks for the invitation, Brittany," Kurt said with a fond smile for their host, his hands clasped over one bent knee, his legs crossed daintily, before adding with a strain in his voice. "But if you call me a lady again I'm afraid I will have to rip off all your Barbie dolls' heads on my way out."

"Why can't I call you Lady Hummel?" Brittany wondered. "It's a title, you know. You should feel honored, Kurt."

"Just drop it, Britt," Kurt said quickly.

"Okay, but just because you're my favorite unicorn," Brittany allowed.

Blaine couldn't get enough from looking around Brittany's room. There were glow-in-the-dark stars stuck up on the ceiling. The white-pink unicorn-horn from her campaign hung over her bookshelf.

"Today I have chocolate fondue because me and Kurt love chocolate and Blaine works at the Chocolate Factory, so it makes him feel more at home."

"I... what?" Blaine glanced quizzically at his host.

"Nothing to be ashamed of," Brittany said with a pat on Blaine's knee. "Everybody loves the singing and dancing little employees from the Chocolate Factory even when they sometimes drop children into the hazelnut cream."

Blaine let out a strained laugh, going along with the joke. It was a joke, right? He couldn't tell because Brittany sounded completely serious in her statement.

Blaine leaned closer to Kurt, murmuring out of the corner of his mouth, "She doesn't really think I'm an Oompa Loompa, does she?"

Kurt just grinned and grabbed a stick with a strawberry and dipped it into the chocolate fondue.

Blaine had always wondered why Kurt and Brittany were such good friends. Blaine found her presence to be very puzzling – not as irritating as Rachel could be but still whenever he was around her he was left feeling slightly confused, or like he was missing something. He never knew if her comments were jokes or for real.

"So, Blaine let's talk about important life changes," Brittany started, clapping her hands together.

Blaine straightened up. There had been so much going on the past couple of months and he was happy to share the news with his friends.

"First of all," Brittany went on. "Kurt told me you have a cat. This totally changes my opinion on you. Why didn't you tell me sooner? I would have invited you to bring your cat along. But first I need to check if you are properly informed about cat diseases." Brittany handed out paper and a pen to Blaine. "Fill in this question catalogue, please."

Blaine took the paper, looking down at it rather dumbstruck. _True or false: Signs that your cat may have a drug addiction include…. _Drug addiction? What? Blaine turned look at Kurt who had been glancing at the paper over his shoulder, but Kurt just continued to smirk at him and popped another chocolate berry into his mouth.

„You want me to do this now?" Blaine asked.

"You can take it home, but don't look up the answers online, because that'd be cheating as I've been told by Mr Schuester recently." She shrugged. "Next time you can bring Lady Tiffany along. Lord Tubbington wants to meet her. Totally."

"So, this mysterious Lord Tubbington..." Blaine started. "Am I going to meet him today?"

"Oh yeah," Brittany said. "Rory's just out on a walk with him. They should be back in a little while. Lord Tubbington totally loves having that leprechaun on his command, and Rory's doing an excellent job at meeting Tubby's every needs. I'm considering keeping Rory as a house elf when he's finished exchanging foreign schools."

"It's called to study abroad, Britt," Kurt explained slowly. "Rory's an exchange student."

"Whatever," Brittany shrugged. "He's able to make Lord Tubbington poop chocolate bars. How do you think I got all the chocolate for this fondue? He's definitely a keeper."

Kurt gingerly put the half-bitten piece of chocolate-coated strawberry back on his plate.

"So, tell me about your plans for New York? My viewers want to know all the gossip! Also, I hear Rachel has enlarged her head to match the big city. True or false?"

"Who came up with that nonsense?" Kurt bristled.

"Santana says Rachel's definitely more bigheaded than usual." She cupped her mouth with her hand and said confidentially. "Are you guys going to live together in New York? Like Will & Grace?"

Kurt arched an eyebrow at her. "Definitely not like Will & Grace, Brittany."

"Rachel and Kurt will share a flat," Blaine explained. "We figured it might not be a good idea to live together already. It keeps the love alive to still be able to go on dates and find time and places to... well, get together," Blaine said with a blush. "I will stay at my mom's for another year or two longer."

Leaning back, Brittany sucked a cherry into her mouth and frowned at Blaine. "But I thought you're going to move to New York, too. How do you do that when you still live with your mom?"

Blaine beamed at here. "Yeah, here's the great news. My mom got a job as editor for a fashion magazine in New York."

"So cool!" Kurt chimed in.

"After my parents split up my mom decided to sell our house, because it was too big for us anyway. She applied for the position in New York and they want her to start even sooner than expected. She's already moved over, so I'm staying in Lima until after graduation and then I'm going to do an internship at her new firm and wait for my turn to apply to NYADA."

"So you're living by yourself right now?" Brittany asked.

"No, I'm currently living at Mike's. His family is just amazing, they practically convinced me to come live with them. I would have stayed at Kurt's, but we figured we wouldn't be able to actually study for our final exams if we lived together, so Mike's family invited me. Also, Mike helps me study for night school classes, he's a great friend."

There was a knock on the door and Rory came in, carrying a large tabby cat on his arms. "Hi guys!"

"Hi Lord Tubbington," Brittany got her cat on her lap. "Did you have a nice walk in the backyard? Next time you're going to meet Lady Tiffany. That'll be so exciting!"

"Lord Tubbington is a cat?" Blaine let out a laugh. "God, I kind of imagined him to be some British uncle of yours and I was rather anxious to meet him, especially when Kurt would just mysteriously say that I'd like him."

Kurt couldn't help but notice the way Rory stared at Brittany's breasts. He couldn't even blame the boy since Brittany was wearing a shirt with a very plunging neckline.

"Brittany, could you show any more cleavage?" Kurt asked in a voice dripping of sarcasm.

"Oh sure," Brittany announced and adjusted her boobs into the camera.

Kurt facepalmed. "Oh my irony is so lost on her."

"By the way, Kurt," Brittany said with her mouth full with a slice of chocolate-coated watermelon, "this Saturday we have to have another sleepover with the girls. You're in?"

"Oh, yeah, definitely," Kurt agreed.

"Sounds like fun!" Blaine added in.

"No, Blaine you can't come," Brittany said immediately.

"Why not?" Blaine asked affronted.

"Because it's a girls night and we talk about boys," Brittany explained. "And how can Kurt gush about you when you're in the same room?"

"That's discriminating," Blaine pouted and crossed his arms. "I want to attend a girl's pajama party, too."

"I'd love to hang around with the girls, too," Rory chimed in with a pleading voice towards Brittany. "I can be your servant, if you wish. I can bring you girls refreshments and stuff."

"This is so unfair," Blaine argued with Kurt. "We're both gay. Why are you the kind of gay who is allowed to hang out with the girls and I'm not? That's like a double-track line, you can't say yes to one person and no to another. Am I right, Britt?"

Blaine turned to Brittany who was watching them with her head propped up on her hands.

"Are you having parallel-parking issues, too?" she asked with a puzzled expression.

"I've known the girls longer than you do, that's why," Kurt stated matter-of-factly. "I wouldn't go hang out with the Warblers without you. They were your friends first."

"It's not fun hanging with a flock of warblers," Brittany chimed in. "Especially when it's molt season and they lose all their pretty feathers. Besides, I'm a cat person. I thought you were, too, Blaine."

Kurt reached out to adjust Blaine's bow tie while explaining, "I'm sorry, love, but it's the monthly girl's night with Mercedes, Tina, Santana and Rachel. We're having a pajama party over at Tina's. To be honest, Tina suggested I should bring you along, but it would feel like Rachel bringing Finn or Mercedes inviting Sam. This night's supposed to chat over boys, so we can't have them around."

"Then why does Santana get to come?" Blaine pointed out. "She's an item with Brittany. So one of them should be left out, too."

Kurt gaped at him for a second, before confronting Brittany. "Actually, Blaine's got a point. Why does Santana get to come? Or you, for that matter?"

Brittany almost choked on a piece of chocolate-cheese. "You want to expel _me_ from girl's night?"

"Maybe next time the girl's are planning a sleepover I could join them and you stay away, Kurt?" Blaine suggested slyly, with his arms crossed in front of his chest. "I mean, they're my friends, too and I'd love to have a chat with them about, you know, stuff."

This time Kurt was taken aback. "But you can have that with the guys, don't you? I'm sure you're talking about relationship stuff when you're with them."

"Well, yes, but you were right and they're not really interested in talking about Broadway numbers or about the latest issue of Vogue or clothes."

"I understand, but Blaine it's not fair. You can do both sides. You're interested in sports, so you would have a good time talking with the guys about sports stuff and cars. And I know you would love to hang out with the girls and talk with them about you know what, but it would be like me going to the boys and tell them intimate things about you and you wouldn't want them to know anything concerning the size of your jockstrap, would you?"

"This is delicious!" Rory uttered, popping a chocolate-cherry into his mouth, then almost choking on the pit.

"I agree," Brittany said. "Kurt, is there anything my viewers should know about Blaine's jockstrap?"

"Are you wearing jockstraps?" Rory asked, baffled. "I didn't know you were on the football team."

"I'm not," Blaine said, his cheeks flushed.

"I said that metaphorically," Kurt clarified. "There's nothing wrong with Blaine's... you know... size."

"Could we drop the subject?" Blaine asked.

"Okay," Brittany said, consulting a stack of cards with questions she'd prepared. "Let's get to more serious matters again. Blaine, boxer shorts or briefs?"

"You don't have to answer that!" Kurt said.

"I always wondered what's more common with Americans?" Rory asked, honestly curious.

"Actually, there's an interesting article in the latest Vogue issue about international underwear preferences," Kurt chirped in with his finger raised, ready to educate. But just then Lord Tubbington jumped on Kurt's lap and Kurt let out a shriek.

"Boy, he's big," Blaine eyes widened at the actual size of the overweight cat.

"For the record," Brittany turned to her camera with a wink, "Blaine's never seen such a big one on Kurt's lap before!"

"Brittany!" Kurt protested. "Get this monster off me!"

Brittany snapped her fingers at Rory. "It's time for Lord Tubbington's belly rub."

"Aye!" Rory leaned over and lifted the cat off Kurt's lap.

"May I?" Blaine sat down next to Rory on the floor and they both petted the big cat. "He's so soft!" Blaine admired and looked up when Kurt let out an amused chuckle.

"Blaine is crazy about cats," Kurt told Brittany with an eye roll. "I always have to compete for his attention with his cat. Tiffany just needs to sneeze and Blaine jumps out of bed to go look after her."

"You like my cat, Kurt, admit it," Blaine said with a fond smile. "You even wanted to buy her a diamond collar."

"Sweet," Brittany said approvingly.

"Fake diamonds, of course," Kurt said confidentially, leaning in to Brittany. "Just so I can get a leash on that cat and keep her out of the way."

"I heard that," Blaine said over his shoulder, still rubbing Lord Tubbington's belly.

"No, no, no, you're not doing it right," Brittany criticized Blaine. "You need to stroke him counter-clockwise or else he can't poop chocolate."

"Don't worry, Britt. Blaine's got a magic touch that can turn anyone to butter," Kurt added with a wink and a grin. "Even counter-clockwise."

* * *

><p>"That was an <em>interesting<em> experience," Blaine observed when he got into Kurt's car. "But to tell the truth I'm not keen on being invited to Fondue For Two again."

Kurt shifted into drive and turned out of the driveway. "You don't mind me talking about _us_ in front of everyone, do you?"

"Of course not," Blaine said, giving his boyfriend a smile. "I love _us_ and if I had my way I'd talk about us all of the time."

Kurt extended his right hand and Blaine took hold of it while Kurt steered the wheel with his left. "I can't wait to be in New York. It's going to be so exciting!"

Blaine turned pensive. "Funny how things turn out sometimes, isn't it? I mean a year ago I wouldn't have thought that my parents would get divorced and that it'd feel this _right._ Then my mom telling me that secretly she's always wanted to go to New York but never thought it'd happen because of my dad and me. I was stunned that she sold the house, I never imagined she'd let go of the house. And now you and I are going to be together in New York in only a couple of months. If I make the night school, that is."

"You will," Kurt gave Blaine's fingers an encouraging squeeze. "And us being together in New York was a sure thing," Kurt interjected. "It was just the timing that was an unknown factor."

"What baffles me the most is that you and my mom get along so well," Blaine said. "How did that happen?"

"Come on, I was intrigued to meet your mom the first time you told me she worked for a fashion magazine. Once she warmed to me it was inevitable that we'd have lots to talk about."

"I'm just happy that she finally accepts the fact that I'm gay and that already I've found the man of dreams, the one I want to grow old with."

Kurt let out a laugh. "Blaine, stop being so tacky!"

"I mean it!"

"I know," Kurt said with a sweet grin. "But before we talk about being old together, let's be young together with a bright future ahead of us. Deal?"

"Deal." Blaine raised Kurt's hand to his mouth and kissed his fingers. "I love you, Kurt Hummel. Even if you get to hang out with the girls and I don't."

"And I love you back, Blaine Anderson," Kurt replied with a fond smile. "Even if you love your cat more than you love me."

"Kurt, you're not really jealous of my cat, are you?"

"Tiffy's not just a cat, Blaine," Kurt said like _duh!_ "She's more like a supercat with manipulative superpowers like that superpurr that renders you into an obedient servant who lives to fulfill her every wishes."

Blaine let out a loud laugh. "Sounds like she's got quite similar powers to yours, because whenever you're around my brain turns into jelly and all I want is to please you."

"Really?" Musing, Kurt tapped a finger to his lips and hummed a little, a sound that sent electrifying shivers down Blaine's spine.

"Absolutely," Blaine confirmed in a low voice, his eyes filled with sudden desire and his hands twitching with the need to be all over Kurt's body. "Your wish is my command."

Kurt raised his eyebrows at the sudden change of his boyfriend's voice. "Oh, here we go again," he chuckled. "Your teenage hormones are running riot again."

"Kurt," Blaine put his hand on Kurt's knee and let it trail upwards. "You can't tell me you don't love my magic hands on you."

"Blaine, I'm driving," Kurt said and suppressed a shudder that was elicited by Blaine's touch. "But if you can hold it ten more minutes I'll drive us to my place. Everybody should be out and we'd have at least an hour."

"Have I mentioned that I love you?" Blaine smiled. "Like, love you like crazy with all of my heart kind of love. Like, I won't ever let you go because you're the best thing that ever happened to me kind of love."

Kurt gave him a wry but loving glance. "You can do better than that, honey, but don't worry, you'll have a lifetime to come up with a good love declaration."

Blaine took the opportunity of a red light to kiss Kurt, and not just a quick smack of lips, but a full-on hands on his face slow tongue-dance kind of kiss, not caring about the traffic and the world until the cars behind them started honking angrily. With a laugh Kurt hit the gas to make it home as fast as possible.

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you for reading! :) <strong>

**Please check out my other stories, too. **

**A special thanks to **_**Normallyweirdm**_** and **_**SonOfLuffy**_**, you guys rock! :D**


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